RESUMO

Teorias sobre fenômenos psicológicos frequentemente fazem referência a processos que não são diretamente observáveis (processos latentes). Tradicionalmente, no entanto, a investigação desses fenômenos é feita de forma indireta aos processos latentes. O objetivo deste artigo é introduzir os conceitos fundamentais de modelagem multinomial. Aqui mostramos como modelos de processos latentes são derivados de modelos puramente descritivos através da redução do espaço de parâmetros motivada por uma ou mais teorias psicológicas. Os resultados são os modelos multinomiais que fornecem medidas simples de processos psicológicos (probabilidades) e que podem ser quantitativamente testados com dados reais. O uso de modelagem multinomial permite a análise direta dos efeitos de variáveis independentes nos próprios processos latentes que controlam o desempenho em uma ou mais tarefas experimentais, assim, facilitando o teste de predições e explicações teóricas sobre fenômenos psicológicos.

Theories about psychological phenomena often refer to unobservable processes (latent processes). Traditionally, however, the psychological investigation of these phenomena is done indirectly to the latent processes themselves. The objective of this article is to introduce fundamental concepts about multinomial modeling. Here we show that latent processes models are derived from purely descriptive models by reducing the parameter space according to one or more psychological theories. The result is multinomial models that deliver simple measures of psychological processes (probabilities) and that can be tested quantitatively with real data. The use of multinomial modeling allows direct analysis of the effects of independent variables on the latent processes that control performance on one or more experimental tasks, thus making it easier to test theoretical predictions and explanations about psychological phenomena.

Teorías sobre fenómenos psicológicos a menudo se refieren a procesos que no son directamente observables (procesos latentes). Sin embargo, la investigación de estos fenómenos se realiza tradicionalmente de manera indirecta con respecto a los procesos latentes. El propósito de este artículo es presentar los conceptos fundamentales del modelado multinomial. Aquí mostramos cómo los modelos de procesos latentes se derivan de modelos puramente descriptivos al reducir el espacio de parámetros motivado por una o más teorías psicológicas. El resultado son modelos multinomiales que proporcionan medidas simples de procesos psicológicos (probabilidades) y que pueden probarse cuantitativamente con datos reales. El uso de modelos multinomiales permite el análisis directo de los efectos de variables independientes en los procesos latentes que controlan el rendimiento en una o más tareas experimentales, lo que facilita la prueba de predicciones y explicaciones teóricas sobre fenómenos psicológicos.

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Dopamine can modulate long-term episodic memory. Its potential role on the generation of false memories, however, is less well known. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, 24 young healthy volunteers ingested a 4-mg oral dose of haloperidol, a dopamine D2 -receptor antagonist, or placebo, before taking part in a recognition memory task. Haloperidol was active during both study and test phases of the experiment. Participants in the haloperidol group produced more false recognition responses than those in the placebo group, despite similar levels of correct recognition. These findings show that dopamine blockade in healthy volunteers can specifically increase false recognition memory.

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Exposure to adversities during sensitive periods of neurodevelopment is associated with the subsequent development of substance dependence and exerts harmful, long-lasting effects upon memory functioning. In this study, we investigated the relationship between childhood neglect (CN) and memory using a dual-process model that quantifies recollective and non-recollective retrieval processes in crack cocaine dependents. Eighty-four female crack cocaine-dependent inpatients who did (N = 32) or did not (N = 52) report a history of CN received multiple opportunities to study and recall a short list composed of familiar and concrete words and then received a delayed-recall test. Crack cocaine dependents with a history of CN showed worse performance on free-recall tests than did dependents without a history of CN; this finding was associated with declines in recollective retrieval (direct access) rather than non-recollective retrieval. In addition, we found no evidence of group differences in forgetting rates between immediate- and delayed-recall tests. The results support developmental models of traumatology and suggest that neglect of crack cocaine dependents in early life disrupts the adult memory processes that support the retrieval of detailed representations of events from the past.

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The present article reports a survey conducted to identify the practices on passwords usage, focusing particularly on memory limitations and the use of passwords across individuals with different age and education backgrounds. A total of 263 participants were interviewed, with ages ranging from 18 to 93 years, and education level ranging from grade school to graduate degree. Contrary to our expectations, effects of cognitive decline due to aging were not observed on memory performance for passwords. The results suggested instead, that the number of password uses was the most influential factor on memory performance. That is, as the number of circumstances in which individuals utilized passwords increased, the incidence of forgotten and mixed-up passwords also increased. The theoretical significance of these findings and their implications for good practices on password usage are discussed.

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