Mistakenly remembering an energy inefficient appliance as efficient and vice versa can have undesirable consequences. Within the European Union, household appliances (e.g., refrigerators) are assigned energy labels that indicate energy efficiency. Recently, the European Union moved from an old scale (with energy labels A+++, A++, A+, A, B, C, D) to a new scale (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). We investigate how these energy labels are processed from a memory perspective. The results of two experiments found that the "A+ classes" in the old scale were all seen as environmentally friendly. This similarity was associated with worse recall fidelity at a later memory test, suggesting poor distinctiveness in memory. The old scale produced lower recall accuracy and larger confusion errors (e.g., a poorly performing product was mistakenly remembered as highly energy efficient). We identify novel psychological consequences of ecolabeling and discuss their implications for marketing and consumer behavior.
Making judgments of learning (JOLs) can improve learning for some types of materials (e.g., related word pairs), an effect dubbed positive JOL reactivity. This finding could have important educational implications if it generalizes to more educationally realistic materials. Few researchers have investigated this possibility. The goal of the present experiments was to add to this area of research by exploring whether making JOLs would directly improve students' learning of key terms and their definitions. Students studied key term and definition pairs. Some students only studied the pairs, and some studied the pairs and made a JOL (predicting the likelihood of future recall) for each. As well, some students made idea-unit JOLs (Experiment 1), engaged in metacognitive reflection for their JOLs (Experiment 2), or made target-absent JOLs (Experiment 3). In all experiments, JOLs did not impact memory. Thus, JOLs do not appear to impact students' learning of key terms and definitions.
Decision-makers in many fields rely on judgments made with incomplete information; those judgments include information about the uncertainty of the estimates. In three studies the effectiveness of methods of communicating second-order uncertainty, that is, indicators of uncertainty, was examined; none of the indicators were generally effective. In Experiment 1, 259 participants provided their perceptions of the certainty of judgments that included a probability range, a probability density function graph, a verbal expression of confidence, and narrative information. Discrimination, but not sensitivity, between magnitudes of uncertainty was greater when the judgment included a confidence phrase. In Experiment 2a, these results were replicated with 242 participants. In Experiment 2b, 238 participants generally had difficulty interpreting second-order uncertainty in several tasks. In Experiment 3, gradient plots improved discrimination over probability density functions but not over probability ranges among the 198 participants. Although additional research is needed to improve risk communication, probability ranges were tentatively recommended.
Collective memories, a group's shared representations of the past, are slow to change over time. Prior work showed younger adults (YAs) seem not to anticipate change in their future perceptions of collective memories, whereas older adults (OAs) perceive many differences from their youth to now. To explore this previous finding, representative samples of American YAs and OAs rated the emotional valence of nationally important events for "most Americans" in the present and either in 50 (Study 1) or 100 years (Study 2). On average, YAs anticipated no change in their lifetime but anticipated some shifts in the far future, whereas OAs predicted different emotional valences for some events when considering both future time points. However, similar numbers of YAs and OAs anticipated change, showing differences between present versus future ratings. For their lifetime's future, YAs simply varied widely in the direction of their predictions, whereas OAs were much more cohesive.
Prospective memory-the ability to remember future intentions-is crucial for daily functioning, yet failures can have serious consequences (e.g., forgetting a baby in a car). This study examined how intention encoding (explicit vs. nonexplicit) and task relevance (participant vs. experimenter) affect prospective remembering. In our experiment, participants' cell phones (participant-relevant) or consent forms (experimenter-relevant) were collected while participants engaged in laboratory tasks. Under explicit encoding, participants were instructed to retrieve their items before leaving; under nonexplicit encoding, no such emphasis was given. Participants achieved an average performance of 89% in the absence of explicit encoding, suggesting that intentions can be successfully encoded and retrieved in the absence of explicit encoding instruction; only experimenter-relevant tasks benefited from explicit encoding. These findings challenge current prospective memory models, underscoring the importance of autonomic processes and contextual factors contributing to memory performance in critical real-world situations.
Haslam and Tse (2026) proposed that harm-related concepts have expanded in recent decades, partly due to the rise of harm-based morality in Western cultures. Inspired by their theory, this commentary examines concept creep in interdependent Japanese cultural contexts, where morality may be undergoing changes. By analyzing moral language in Japanese popular song lyrics from 1968 to 2015, we first demonstrate that while harm-based morality has increased in Japan, binding moral foundations (purity, ingroup, and authority) have persisted or increased. Consistent with the premise that rising harm-based morality underlies concept creep, we then show that this phenomenon has occurred in Japan, drawing on cases of harassment, depression, and trauma. Concurrently, we argue that interdependence and binding moral foundations may influence the extent to which and how harm-related concepts expand. These observations suggest that while concept creep is not exclusive to Western cultures, it is shaped by sociocultural contexts.
Bilingual storybooks are considered a promising dual-language learning context, yet few studies have examined how their structure impacts vocabulary learning. This study quantified the prevalence of different Spanish-English bilingual storybooks and tested their impact on novel word learning in monolingual preschoolers. In Study 1, 127 Spanish-English storybooks from local U.S public libraries were evaluated, revealing that most (79.5%) contained full-sentence translations as opposed to code-switching (20.5%). In Study 2, English-speaking preschoolers (N = 45, M-age = 57.23 months) were taught eight Spanish animal names from a full-sentence translation and a code-switched book with a single Spanish word insertion. Children learned significantly more words from the code-switched book and Study 3 (N = 45, M-age = 56.45 months) identified a possible mechanism for this effect. Together, these studies demonstrate that the most common bilingual storybook format was less effective for novel word learning than the least common format. General Audience Summary Many children around the world grow up learning more than one language, but how can caregivers and educators support second language learning? Storybooks written in two languages-also known as bilingual books-are used to support children's early language development. However, these bilingual storybooks vary in format, and some may be more effective for teaching children new vocabulary words than others. This study examined the structure of 127 Spanish-English bilingual storybooks from local U.S. public libraries. The majority of these books were "trans-lational" books, in which each sentence or paragraph in one language is also fully translated into the other language. Fewer books used a "code-switched" format where words or phrases in one language are embedded in the other language (e.g., "The boy had a frog, una rana"). In a follow-up experiment in the laboratory, English-speaking preschoolers were read both book types and taught new Spanish animal names. Children learned more words from the least common code-switched format, in which the Spanish word appeared immediately after its English translation. Overall, these findings reveal a mismatch between the prevalence of certain bilingual book formats in public libraries and their effectiveness for teaching words in a second language. For children just beginning to learn a second language, code-switched books that include individual vocabulary words in a second language embedded in the first language might be especially effective. This research can offer guidance for caregivers and educators in selecting storybooks that align with children's language learning needs.
The Response Time Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) detects the recognition of a concealed item (probe) among controls through slower responses to the probe. A key use is geographic search, for example, in our case, detecting a crime-relevant suburb. In Study 1, we compared text versus image stimuli; text yielded superior detection. We also compared a general-population sample with formerly incarcerated individuals and observed no significant differences. Study 2 implemented hierarchical testing to further narrow locations: identify the suburb, then the street within that suburb. Participants saw 10 suburbs and, per suburb, 10 streets (hence 100 total possibilities). The correct suburb was detected in 28.4% of cases, and the correct suburb–street pair in 9.8%. We further compared general-population, formerly incarcerated, and prior crime-victim samples. We again found no group differences. Overall, results support the RT-CIT’s feasibility for practical location search and suggest text-based materials and hierarchical testing as promising approach.
When viewing video recordings of witnesses completing lineups, outside observers struggle to discriminate between accurate identifications of guilty suspects and inaccurate identifications of innocent suspects. A potential solution is to offload this task to artificial intelligence models; however, these models often come with costs to transparency and interpretability. Alternatively, perhaps assessments of suspect-identification accuracy can be improved by training evaluators to use a simple-scoring approach. Across two experiments, we developed and tested a simple-scoring system for assessing suspect-identification accuracy and compared its performance to that of human intuition and to an artificial intelligence model. The artificial intelligence model better discriminated between accurate and inaccurate witnesses than did evaluators in the simple-scoring condition, but this advantage was modest, and evaluators in the simple-scoring condition performed far better than evaluators who relied on intuition. The simple-scoring approach was beneficial because it directed evaluators toward those witness behaviors that serve as reliable cues for accuracy.
Defendant remorse and criminal appearance significantly influence penalty severity in criminal trials, where remorseful cues are often associated with leniency and criminal appearances with harsher punishments. Alarmingly, a defendant's facial structure, despite their intent, can activate implicit face-type biases shaping perceptions of remorse and criminal tendencies, thereby affecting legal outcomes. Two studies examined how these face-type judgments influence parole decisions and recidivism beliefs as a function of crime severity. Results indicate that perceptions of criminality and remorse vary based on the intensity of facial features present, and these perceptions may influence parole and recidivism beliefs. Additionally, offenders with criminal-looking features can still appear remorseful, though this perception may depend on the type of crime committed and judgment being made (e.g., parole decisions or predictions of reoffending). Overall, these findings highlight how implicit face-type biases can undermine fairness and impartiality within the criminal justice system.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly used to generate police-incident reports. Yet such systems can produce errors, which may detrimentally impact legal processes. The current study examined the impact of an AI-generated report on memory and perceptions of a police incident, and whether safeguards can reduce those impacts. Participants (N = 432) read an accurate summary of a domestic-violence incident; 24 hours later, they read an AI-generated report that was either accurate or contained misinformation, before completing memory tests and rating their perceptions of the incident. Two safeguards were tested: (1) active error-monitoring, and (2) watching body-worn camera footage. Misinformation significantly impaired memory and influenced perceptions of the incident—especially in participants who strongly identified with police—and the safeguards were largely effective at reducing these impacts. Findings demonstrate the risks of generative-AI usage in forensic settings, requiring the implementation of appropriate safeguards for combatting its detrimental effects.
