Developmental differences in the role of detail in picture recognition memory

Two experiments assess the effect of the amount of physical detail in pictures on picture recognition memory. Children and adults were presented simple and complex line drawings. A “same-different” recognition test followed in which the distractor items were original pictures from the presentation phase with the amount of physical detail altered. For second- and fourth-grade subjects, recognition sensitivity, measured in terms of d′, was similar for pictures in the simple and complex presentation conditions. For adults, however, recognition sensitivity was greater for pictures in the simple than complex presentation condition. This finding with adults was replicated in Experiment 2. Interpretations of this age difference in picture memory processing are discussed, as well as the constraints imposed by various dependent measures used in picture memory studies.     

Picture recognition without picture identification: a method for assessing the role of perceptual information in familiarity-based picture recognition

The present study examined the claim that unidentifiable test-pictures are processed and recognized on a perceptual, as opposed to a conceptual, level. Using an extension of the recognition without identification paradigm (e.g., Cleary, A. M. & Greene, R. L. (2000). Recognition without identification. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 26, 1063-1069; Peynircioglu, Z. F. (1990). A feeling-of-recognition without identification. Journal of Memory and Language, 29, 493-500), it was observed that when test-pictures were unidentifiable during a masked perceptual identification task, old-new discrimination occurred when the study-list consisted of pictures (Experiments 1-3), but not when the study-list consisted of picture names (Experiment 2) or when picture exemplars served as test-cues (Experiment 3). Results provide converging evidence that a study-test perceptual match is needed for the episodic recognition of unidentified test-pictures. Implications for the present paradigm as a tool for examining the role of perceptual information in recognition-familiarity are discussed.     

Encoding processes in recognition and recall

The present experiments demonstrate that picture-word stimuli are differentially encoded in anticipation of a recognition test than in anticipation of a free-recall test. Subjects perform better on the retention test of which they have been informed, and different information from the stimuli is used to pass each test. These findings cannot be attributed to stimulus selection nor to pure pictorial encoding in anticipation of recognition and pure verbal encoding in anticipation of recall. Recognition is enhanced by encoding which integrates the details within each item while recall is enhanced by encoding which interrelates the items of a list.     

Encoding differences in recognition and recall

After practice consisting of the free recall of five blocked categorized lists, Ss were presented a sixth list and then unexpectedly tested for recognition. After practice at recognition of the same five lists, Ss were unexpectedly tested for recall following presentation of the sixth test. Recognition performance was superior when items were encoded in anticipation of a recognition test. Intracategory serial position functions for Ss anticipating recall tests were different from those anticipating recognition tests regardless of the retention test employed. The role of control processes in recall and recognition testing is discussed     

Memory for detail in item versus associative recognition

Some studies have shown that, although repetition increases the familiarity of a stimulus, it does not improve memory for its details. Because memory for associative information is thought to require memory for the details of study presentation, the effects of repetition on associative recognition were examined in the present study. The pattern of results was similar to that found for the recognition of item details: Repetition increased the familiarity of the individual items within each pair to a greater extent than it improved memory for their specific pairings.     

Encoding context and false recognition memories

False recognition of an extralist word that is thematically related to all words of a study list may reflect internal activation of the theme word during encoding followed by impaired source monitoring at retrieval, that is, difficulty in determining whether the word had actually been experienced or merely thought of. To assist source monitoring, distinctive visual or verbal contexts were added to study words at input. Both types of context produced similar effects: False alarms to theme-word (critical) lures were reduced; remember judgements of critical lures called old were lower; and if contextual information had been added to lists, subjects indicated as much for list items and associated critical foils identified as old. The visual and verbal contexts used in the present studies were held to disrupt semantic categorisation of list words at input and to facilitate source monitoring at output.     

Encoding context and false recognition memories

False recognition of an extralist word that is thematically related to all words of a study list may reflect internal activation of the theme word during encoding followed by impaired source monitoring at retrieval, that is, difficulty in determining whether the word had actually been experienced or merely thought of. To assist source monitoring, distinctive visual or verbal contexts were added to study words at input. Both types of context produced similar effects: False alarms to theme‐word (critical) lures were reduced; remember judgements of critical lures called old were lower; and if contextual information had been added to lists, subjects indicated as much for list items and associated critical foils identified as old. The visual and verbal contexts used in the present studies were held to disrupt semantic categorisation of list words at input and to facilitate source monitoring at output.     

The use of recognition information and additional cues in inferences from memory

Goldstein and Gigerenzer's (2002) "Recognition Heuristic" (RH) was tested for its empirical validity in an experimental paradigm with induced recognition of objects. RH claims that upon inferring which of two objects (e.g., cities) scores higher on a criterion (e.g., city size), a recognized object will be chosen over an unrecognized one, if the recognition is a valid predictor of the criterion without considering additional object information. Trying to avoid potential shortcomings of former studies, we (a) used the city population task, (b) provided additional cue information only for recognized cities, and (c) had participants draw inferences from memory. Participants learned city names and additional information about some cities. They also learned that recognition and the additional information were valid predictors of the criterion "city size". In a subsequent decision phase, the additional information about the cities in memory strongly affected the inferences, suggesting that recognition information is clearly integrated into judgments, but by no means in a non-compensatory fashion that would dominate every other cue.     

Organizational factors in picture recognition memory

Since humans have been shown to have a large capacity for dealing with pictures but not for more abstract forms of visual information, it follows that humans must rely on existing mental structures in picture recognition tasks. A series of experiments were designed to examine some characteristics of that structure. The results indicate that something analogous to categories exists for pictures and that when subjects view pictures they tag these categories. The decision in a recognition task that they have or have not seen a picture appears to be based on whether or not an existing category has been tagged. For example, the results indicate subjects can detect a new picture as new with a high degree of certainty. Further, the results show that subjects use information contained in or associated with the new member of the pair in a forced-choice procedure for deciding which member of the pair is old. Since other research has shown that figure-ground ratings made by one group of subjects is a reliable predictor of errors for subjects ranging in age from five to adult, there is evidence that whatever the exact nature of these categories they are not only common between individuals but are established at a very early age.     

Effectiveness of color in picture recognition memory

Investigations were conducted into the effectiveness of color in picture recognition memory. In the study phase, half of the pictures were presented in color and the other half in black and white. In the test phase, half were presented in the same color mode as the study pictures and the other half in the other mode. In immediate and 1-week-delayed tests, the recognition performance was highest when color pictures were used in both the study and test phases. The recall for the color mode of the study pictures, however, was not as good, even with the color pictures. This suggests that the effectiveness of color in picture recognition is not necessarily due to the memory for colors in the pictures themselves, but is probably due to the distinctiveness of features highlighted by the colors. We also found that in the recall performance for the color mode it was more difficult to detect the deletion of colors than to detect their addition.     

Encoding of kinesthetic extent information

The difference in codability of kinesthetic extent cues for experimenter-determined vs. subject-determined standards was investigated. The task involved moving a slide along a linear track a distance of one-half the total distance of the track. This distance (the standard) was then reproduced. During the presentation of the standard, reaction time to an auditory probe was recorded. One group of subjects determined their own standard (active condition), while the other group moved the slide to a stop located at the standard distance (constrained condition). All subjects were told that the standard was one-half the total distance. A more active encoding process was hypothesized to occur in the active condition which would be reflected in increased reaction time to the probe. The results did not support the attention hypothesis, in that probe reaction times were not significantly different for the two groups. Rather, the data suggested that the important variable in determining the codability of extent cues was the availability of a strategy and not whether the experimenter or the subject determined the standard.

     

The picture superiority effect in associative recognition

The picture superiority effect has been well documented in tests of item recognition and recall. The present study shows that the picture superiority effect extends to associative recognition. In three experiments, students studied lists consisting of random pairs of concrete words and pairs of line drawings; then they discriminated between intact (old) and rearranged (new) pairs of words and pictures at test. The discrimination advantage for pictures over words was seen in a greater hit rate for intact picture pairs, but there was no difference in the false alarm rates for the two types of stimuli. That is, there was no mirror effect. The same pattern of results was found when the test pairs consisted of the verbal labels of the pictures shown at study (Experiment 4), indicating that the hit rate advantage for picture pairs represents an encoding benefit. The results have implications for theories of the picture superiority effect and models of associative recognition.     

Eye movements and picture processing during recognition

Eye movements were monitored during a recognition memory test of previously studied pictures of full-color scenes. The test scenes were identical to the originals, had an object deleted from them, or included a new object substituted for an original object. In contrast to a prior report (Parker, 1978), we found no evidence that object deletions or substitutions could be recognized on the basis of information acquired from the visual periphery. Deletions were difficult to recognize peripherally, and the eyes were not attracted to them. Overall, the amplitude of the average saccade to the critical object during the memory test was less than 4.5 degrees of visual angle in all conditions and averaged 4.1 degrees across conditions. We conclude that information about object presence and identity in a scene is limited to a relatively small region around the current fixation point.     

Viewpoint and orientation influence picture recognition in the blind

In the first three experiments, subjects felt solid geometrical forms and matched raised-line pictures to the objects. Performance was best in experiment 1 for top views, with shorter response latencies than for side views, front views, or 3-D views with foreshortening. In a second experiment with blind participants, matching accuracy was not significantly affected by prior visual experience, but speed advantages were found for top views, with 3-D views also yielding better matching accuracy than side views. There were no performance advantages for pictures of objects with a constant cross section in the vertical axis. The early-blind participants had lower performance for side and frontal views. The objects were rotated to oblique orientations in experiment 3. Early-blind subjects performed worse than the other subjects given object rotation. Visual experience with pictures of objects at many angles could facilitate identification at oblique orientations. In experiment 5 with blindfolded sighted subjects, tangible pictures were used as targets and as choices. The results yielded superior overall performance for 3-D views (mean, M = 74% correct) and much lower matching accuracy for top views as targets (M = 58% correct). Performance was highest when the target and matching viewpoint were identical, but 3-D views (M = 96% correct) were still far better than top views. The accuracy advantage of the top views also disappeared when more complex objects were tested in experiment 6. Alternative theoretical implications of the results are discussed.