Giuliana Mazzoni | University of Hull (original) (raw)

Papers by Giuliana Mazzoni

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1993

Five experiments were conducted to explore the effect of task constraints on memorability ratings... more Five experiments were conducted to explore the effect of task constraints on memorability ratings and on study time allocation strategies and to examine the conditions under which an item labor-in-vain effect is found (i.e., items studied for a long time are not recalled equally or better than items studied for a short time). Results show that the strategy of time allocation was influenced by the outcome of a previous memory test (Experiment 1), by the final memory test (Experiment 4), and by the total available time (Experiment 5). None of these manipulations eliminated the labor-in-vain effect, which is not due to the subjects' inability to manage the study time (Experiment 3) and which disappeared only when the time was experimenter paced (Experiment 2). Results are discussed in terms of a cost–benefit strategy.

Applied Metacognition, 2002

Psychiatry research, Jan 28, 2015

This study explores whether self-reported depth of hypnosis and hypnotic suggestibility are assoc... more This study explores whether self-reported depth of hypnosis and hypnotic suggestibility are associated with individual differences in neuroanatomy and/or levels of functional connectivity. Twenty-nine people varying in suggestibility were recruited and underwent structural, and after a hypnotic induction, functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest. We used voxel-based morphometry to assess the correlation of grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) against the independent variables: depth of hypnosis, level of relaxation and hypnotic suggestibility. Functional networks identified with independent components analysis were regressed with the independent variables. Hypnotic depth ratings were positively correlated with GM volume in the frontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with GM volume in the left temporal-occipital cortex. Relaxation ratings did not correlate significantly with GM volume and none of the independent...

Psychological research, Jan 3, 2014

Recent research on involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) has shown that these memories can... more Recent research on involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) has shown that these memories can be elicited and studied in the laboratory under controlled conditions. Employing a modified version of a vigilance task developed by Schlagman and Kvavilashvili (Mem Cogn 36:920-932, 2008) to elicit IAMs, we investigated the effects of varying the frequency of external cues on the number of IAMs reported. During the vigilance task, participants had to detect an occasional target stimulus (vertical lines) in a constant stream of non-target stimuli (horizontal lines). Participants had to interrupt the task whenever they became aware of any task-unrelated mental contents and to report them. In addition to line patterns, participants were exposed to verbal cues and their frequency was experimentally manipulated in three conditions (frequent cues vs. infrequent cues vs. infrequent cues plus arithmetic operations). We found that, compared to infrequent cues, both conditions with frequent cues...

Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 2001

Many of the body's systems that function to maintain optimal health and well-being decline wi... more Many of the body's systems that function to maintain optimal health and well-being decline with advancing age. Aerobic capacity, muscle mass, and strength all progressively decline. Significant sleep disturbances are associated with increases in morbidity and mortality. Cognition declines, impacting an older individual's ability to function independently. Interventions that could at least stabilize or possibly improve functional capacity, sleep quality, and cognitive function have the theoretical potential to prolong an older individual's ability to live independently, and interest in their possible utility is growing rapidly. One such intervention may be stimulation of the "somatotrophic" axis via growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). Here we review the evidence for such somatotrophic interventions. We also report preliminary findings on the effects of chronic GHRH treatment on the somatotrophic hormones, body composition, functional status, sleep, and cogn...

Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2014

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2012

Memory for visual objects, although typically highly accurate, can be distorted, especially in ol... more Memory for visual objects, although typically highly accurate, can be distorted, especially in older adults. Here we asked whether also erroneous identifications of visual objects subsequently corrected and replaced by a correct identification might induce false recognitions, and whether this is more likely to occur in older people. For this aim a new paradigm was developed. In the first phase, participants performed a visual object identification task with degraded pictures of objects and produced correct and false but subsequently corrected identifications. In the second phase, participants performed a surprise recognition task in which also false identifications were presented.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2014

This paper examines the idea that believing that events occurred in the past is a non-memorial de... more This paper examines the idea that believing that events occurred in the past is a non-memorial decision which reflects underlying processes that are distinct from recollecting events. Research on autobiographical memory has often focused on events that are both believed to have occurred and remembered, thus tending to overlook the distinction between autobiographical belief and recollection. The study of event representations such as false memories, believed-notremembered events, and non-believed memories show the influence of non-memorial processes on evaluations of occurrence. Believing that an event occurred and recollecting an event may be more strongly dissociated than previously stated. The relative independence of these constructs was examined in two studies. In Study 1, multiple events were cued and then each was rated on autobiographical belief, recollection, and other memory characteristics. In Study 2, participants described a nonbelieved memory, a believed memory, and a believed-not-remembered event, and made similar ratings. In both studies, structural equation modeling techniques revealed distinct belief and recollection latent variables. Modeling the predictors of these factors revealed a double dissociation: perceptual, re-experiencing, and emotional features predicted recollection and not belief, whereas event plausibility strongly predicted belief and weakly predicted recollection. The results show that judgments of autobiographical belief and recollection are distinct, that each is influenced by different sources of information and processes, and that the strength of their relationship varies depending on the type of event under study. The concept of autobiographical belief is elaborated, and implications of the findings are discussed in relation to decision making about events, social influence on memory, metacognition, and recognition processes.

RESUMO: A hipnose é um procedimento pouco habitual em investigação em Portugal pelo que são inexi... more RESUMO: A hipnose é um procedimento pouco habitual em investigação em Portugal pelo que são inexistentes instrumentos de avaliação do comportamento hipnótico devidamente adaptados à língua portuguesa, que permitam ao investigador estabelecer parâmetros de avaliação ...

La hipnosis es una técnica carente de riesgos per se. Sin embargo, un uso inadecuado de tal técni... more La hipnosis es una técnica carente de riesgos per se. Sin embargo, un uso inadecuado de tal técnica puede ser iatrógeno, especialmente en lo referido a la génesis de falsos recuerdos por parte de la persona hipnotizada. Las creencias erróneas y mitos sobre las ...

ABSTRACT The effects of posthypnotic suggestion on health-related behavior, using a behavioral me... more ABSTRACT The effects of posthypnotic suggestion on health-related behavior, using a behavioral measure of adherence, were investigated. Three hundred twenty-three students covering the full range of hypnotic suggestibility were prescribed an easy (mood rating) or a difficult (physical activity) task. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a) hypnosis with posthypnotic suggestions to facilitate performance of the assigned task or b) a social request to perform the assigned task. There were significant effects for type of task and hypnosis, revealing that participants adhered significantly more to the easy task and that hypnosis decreased task adherence. Hypnotic suggestibility did not predict adherence, and its interaction with posthypnotic suggestion was not significant. These results suggest that posthypnotic suggestion may decrease adherence rates regardless of participants’ suggestibility level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)

This article responds to comments on Kirsch, Mazzoni, &am... more This article responds to comments on Kirsch, Mazzoni, & Montgomery (2007). Contrary to the perceptions of some commentators, the target article was not aimed at supporting a particular view of hypnosis. Instead, it was a reminder of a long accepted axiom in hypnosis research: the effects of hypnotic suggestions cannot be attributed to hypnosis unless it is demonstrated that the same suggestion does not produce the effect outside of hypnosis.

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the level of metacognitive sensitivity ... more The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the level of metacognitive sensitivity previously observed in global Judgments-of-Learning (JOLs) in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients could also be established when making item-by-item JOLs. Fourteen TLE patients and 14 control participants were compared on a memory task where 39 semantically unrelated word pairs were presented at three different levels of repetition. Thirteen word pairs were assigned to each level. A combined JOL and Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) task was used to examine metamemory monitoring and control processes. The results showed that control participants outperformed TLE patients on recall and recognition. However, both groups were sensitive to repetition of the word pairs throughout the list, revealing intact online monitoring and control processes at encoding. These results are consistent with the findings of Howard et al. (2010) of intact metamemory in TLE patients and extend the findings of of metamemory sensitivity from the global level to the item-by-item level. Finally, the current findings provide additional evidence of a dissociation between memory and metamemory in TLE patients. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1-10)

In this paper, we review the state of knowledge about a previously assumed to be rare memory phen... more In this paper, we review the state of knowledge about a previously assumed to be rare memory phenomenon called nonbelieved memories. Nonbelieved memories refer to a counterintuitive phenomenon in which vivid autobiographical memories are no longer believed to have happened although vivid recollective features remain present. Such memories stand in contrast to the more typical situation that when events are recollected they are also believed to have genuinely occurred. Data regarding the frequency, characteristics, and factors that contribute to the development of naturally occurring and laboratory induced nonbelieved memories is reviewed. Relationships of nonbelieved memories to theories of autobiographical remembering and the study of remembering in applied domains are discussed.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1993

Five experiments were conducted to explore the effect of task constraints on memorability ratings... more Five experiments were conducted to explore the effect of task constraints on memorability ratings and on study time allocation strategies and to examine the conditions under which an item labor-in-vain effect is found (i.e., items studied for a long time are not recalled equally or better than items studied for a short time). Results show that the strategy of time allocation was influenced by the outcome of a previous memory test (Experiment 1), by the final memory test (Experiment 4), and by the total available time (Experiment 5). None of these manipulations eliminated the labor-in-vain effect, which is not due to the subjects' inability to manage the study time (Experiment 3) and which disappeared only when the time was experimenter paced (Experiment 2). Results are discussed in terms of a cost–benefit strategy.

Applied Metacognition, 2002

Psychiatry research, Jan 28, 2015

This study explores whether self-reported depth of hypnosis and hypnotic suggestibility are assoc... more This study explores whether self-reported depth of hypnosis and hypnotic suggestibility are associated with individual differences in neuroanatomy and/or levels of functional connectivity. Twenty-nine people varying in suggestibility were recruited and underwent structural, and after a hypnotic induction, functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest. We used voxel-based morphometry to assess the correlation of grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) against the independent variables: depth of hypnosis, level of relaxation and hypnotic suggestibility. Functional networks identified with independent components analysis were regressed with the independent variables. Hypnotic depth ratings were positively correlated with GM volume in the frontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with GM volume in the left temporal-occipital cortex. Relaxation ratings did not correlate significantly with GM volume and none of the independent...

Psychological research, Jan 3, 2014

Recent research on involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) has shown that these memories can... more Recent research on involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) has shown that these memories can be elicited and studied in the laboratory under controlled conditions. Employing a modified version of a vigilance task developed by Schlagman and Kvavilashvili (Mem Cogn 36:920-932, 2008) to elicit IAMs, we investigated the effects of varying the frequency of external cues on the number of IAMs reported. During the vigilance task, participants had to detect an occasional target stimulus (vertical lines) in a constant stream of non-target stimuli (horizontal lines). Participants had to interrupt the task whenever they became aware of any task-unrelated mental contents and to report them. In addition to line patterns, participants were exposed to verbal cues and their frequency was experimentally manipulated in three conditions (frequent cues vs. infrequent cues vs. infrequent cues plus arithmetic operations). We found that, compared to infrequent cues, both conditions with frequent cues...

Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 2001

Many of the body's systems that function to maintain optimal health and well-being decline wi... more Many of the body's systems that function to maintain optimal health and well-being decline with advancing age. Aerobic capacity, muscle mass, and strength all progressively decline. Significant sleep disturbances are associated with increases in morbidity and mortality. Cognition declines, impacting an older individual's ability to function independently. Interventions that could at least stabilize or possibly improve functional capacity, sleep quality, and cognitive function have the theoretical potential to prolong an older individual's ability to live independently, and interest in their possible utility is growing rapidly. One such intervention may be stimulation of the "somatotrophic" axis via growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). Here we review the evidence for such somatotrophic interventions. We also report preliminary findings on the effects of chronic GHRH treatment on the somatotrophic hormones, body composition, functional status, sleep, and cogn...

Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2014

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2012

Memory for visual objects, although typically highly accurate, can be distorted, especially in ol... more Memory for visual objects, although typically highly accurate, can be distorted, especially in older adults. Here we asked whether also erroneous identifications of visual objects subsequently corrected and replaced by a correct identification might induce false recognitions, and whether this is more likely to occur in older people. For this aim a new paradigm was developed. In the first phase, participants performed a visual object identification task with degraded pictures of objects and produced correct and false but subsequently corrected identifications. In the second phase, participants performed a surprise recognition task in which also false identifications were presented.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2014

This paper examines the idea that believing that events occurred in the past is a non-memorial de... more This paper examines the idea that believing that events occurred in the past is a non-memorial decision which reflects underlying processes that are distinct from recollecting events. Research on autobiographical memory has often focused on events that are both believed to have occurred and remembered, thus tending to overlook the distinction between autobiographical belief and recollection. The study of event representations such as false memories, believed-notremembered events, and non-believed memories show the influence of non-memorial processes on evaluations of occurrence. Believing that an event occurred and recollecting an event may be more strongly dissociated than previously stated. The relative independence of these constructs was examined in two studies. In Study 1, multiple events were cued and then each was rated on autobiographical belief, recollection, and other memory characteristics. In Study 2, participants described a nonbelieved memory, a believed memory, and a believed-not-remembered event, and made similar ratings. In both studies, structural equation modeling techniques revealed distinct belief and recollection latent variables. Modeling the predictors of these factors revealed a double dissociation: perceptual, re-experiencing, and emotional features predicted recollection and not belief, whereas event plausibility strongly predicted belief and weakly predicted recollection. The results show that judgments of autobiographical belief and recollection are distinct, that each is influenced by different sources of information and processes, and that the strength of their relationship varies depending on the type of event under study. The concept of autobiographical belief is elaborated, and implications of the findings are discussed in relation to decision making about events, social influence on memory, metacognition, and recognition processes.

RESUMO: A hipnose é um procedimento pouco habitual em investigação em Portugal pelo que são inexi... more RESUMO: A hipnose é um procedimento pouco habitual em investigação em Portugal pelo que são inexistentes instrumentos de avaliação do comportamento hipnótico devidamente adaptados à língua portuguesa, que permitam ao investigador estabelecer parâmetros de avaliação ...

La hipnosis es una técnica carente de riesgos per se. Sin embargo, un uso inadecuado de tal técni... more La hipnosis es una técnica carente de riesgos per se. Sin embargo, un uso inadecuado de tal técnica puede ser iatrógeno, especialmente en lo referido a la génesis de falsos recuerdos por parte de la persona hipnotizada. Las creencias erróneas y mitos sobre las ...

ABSTRACT The effects of posthypnotic suggestion on health-related behavior, using a behavioral me... more ABSTRACT The effects of posthypnotic suggestion on health-related behavior, using a behavioral measure of adherence, were investigated. Three hundred twenty-three students covering the full range of hypnotic suggestibility were prescribed an easy (mood rating) or a difficult (physical activity) task. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a) hypnosis with posthypnotic suggestions to facilitate performance of the assigned task or b) a social request to perform the assigned task. There were significant effects for type of task and hypnosis, revealing that participants adhered significantly more to the easy task and that hypnosis decreased task adherence. Hypnotic suggestibility did not predict adherence, and its interaction with posthypnotic suggestion was not significant. These results suggest that posthypnotic suggestion may decrease adherence rates regardless of participants’ suggestibility level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)

This article responds to comments on Kirsch, Mazzoni, &am... more This article responds to comments on Kirsch, Mazzoni, & Montgomery (2007). Contrary to the perceptions of some commentators, the target article was not aimed at supporting a particular view of hypnosis. Instead, it was a reminder of a long accepted axiom in hypnosis research: the effects of hypnotic suggestions cannot be attributed to hypnosis unless it is demonstrated that the same suggestion does not produce the effect outside of hypnosis.

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the level of metacognitive sensitivity ... more The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the level of metacognitive sensitivity previously observed in global Judgments-of-Learning (JOLs) in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients could also be established when making item-by-item JOLs. Fourteen TLE patients and 14 control participants were compared on a memory task where 39 semantically unrelated word pairs were presented at three different levels of repetition. Thirteen word pairs were assigned to each level. A combined JOL and Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) task was used to examine metamemory monitoring and control processes. The results showed that control participants outperformed TLE patients on recall and recognition. However, both groups were sensitive to repetition of the word pairs throughout the list, revealing intact online monitoring and control processes at encoding. These results are consistent with the findings of Howard et al. (2010) of intact metamemory in TLE patients and extend the findings of of metamemory sensitivity from the global level to the item-by-item level. Finally, the current findings provide additional evidence of a dissociation between memory and metamemory in TLE patients. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1-10)

In this paper, we review the state of knowledge about a previously assumed to be rare memory phen... more In this paper, we review the state of knowledge about a previously assumed to be rare memory phenomenon called nonbelieved memories. Nonbelieved memories refer to a counterintuitive phenomenon in which vivid autobiographical memories are no longer believed to have happened although vivid recollective features remain present. Such memories stand in contrast to the more typical situation that when events are recollected they are also believed to have genuinely occurred. Data regarding the frequency, characteristics, and factors that contribute to the development of naturally occurring and laboratory induced nonbelieved memories is reviewed. Relationships of nonbelieved memories to theories of autobiographical remembering and the study of remembering in applied domains are discussed.