This project experimental cognitive psychological methodology to examine in normal subjects basic cognitive issues arising from comparisons of the cognitive functioning of schizophrenic and normal individuals. Central to this research is the investigation of basic aspects of selective attention --how organisms selectively respond to a target stimulus when other stimuli in the environment evoke competing responses. A major focus continues to be on negative priming. We have developed several new experimental procedures to further investigate the parameters of this phenomena and to link it to other cognitive characteristics such as working memory capacity. We have also carried out a program of research on working memory capacity which examines how such capacity is related to the suppression of a relevant and intrusive thoughts during tasks performance. This year also saw the publication or acceptance for publication of two basic cognitive psychological papers examining the effects of complex cognitive processing on the use of analogical reasoning and a paper using structural equation modeling to delineate the underlying structure of memory processes.
