Part-set cuing of false memories

Part-set cuing inhibition describes the common finding that re-presenting items from a word list can reduce subjects’ overall recall performance for studied items. Do part-set cuing effects occur for false memories as well? In the present experiments, subjects studied lists of words drawn from Roediger and McDermott (1995). After studying each list, subjects completed math problems and then recalled the list items either with or without accompanying list cues. In Experiment 1, the recall cues consisted of items drawn randomly from the original list. In Experiment 2, an additional type of cued recall task was added in which the even numbered list items were used as cues. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate robust part-set cuing effects for critical nonpresented items. In addition, they show that whereas recall of critical words is reduced by the presence of cues at test, retrieval cues do not affect critical words and studied words in exactly the same manner.     

Source‐monitoring accuracy across repeated tests following directed forgetting

The repeated recall of items from lists that participants were earlier instructed to either remember or to forget was examined in two experiments. RR participants (those instructed to remember both lists they were presented) tended to recall more List 1 items than FR participants (those instructed to forget the first list and to remember the second list). FR participants recalled more List 2 items than did RR participants, but only when directed to report those items (Experiment 1), not when directed to report items from both lists (Experiment 2). Participants experienced difficulty correctly reporting the list source of items they recalled and incorrect source recall increased across tests, showing hypermnesia. This later result underscores the need for caution when assessing the accuracy of information retrieved from multiple sources across repeated tests. Together, the data patterns provide support for the retrieval dynamics account of hypermnesia, the context‐change account of directed forgetting, and limited support for the retrieval inhibition view of directed forgetting.     

Improving recall by recoding interfering material at the time of retrieval.

Our experiments demonstrate that interference of an interpolated list of items with recall of an original list can be substantially reduced by forming Ss just before testing how to reorganize and simplify the interpolated material. In Experiments 1 and 2, Ss better recalled an initial serial list of letters when informed at testing that an interpolated list spelled a certain phrase backward. Similarly, in Experiments 3 and 4, Ss better recalled an initial list of cities when told that the interpolated cities were also names of former U.S. presidents. Control experiments rule out several simple explanations. In contrast to an editing hypothesis, the postorganizing clue helped recall even when problems of list differentiation were minimized. Current memory models appear unable to explain this benefit of a postlearning clue that enables Ss to segregate the interpolated material from the to-be-remembered material.     

Individual differences in working memory capacity and episodic retrieval: examining the dynamics of delayed and continuous distractor free recall

Two experiments explored the possibility that individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) partially reflect differences in the size of the search set from which items are retrieved. High- and low-WMC individuals were tested in delayed (Experiment 1) and continuous distractor (Experiment 2) free recall with varying list lengths. Across both experiments low-WMC individuals recalled fewer items than high-WMC individuals, recalled more previous list intrusions than high-WMC individuals, and recalled at a slower rate than high-WMC individuals. It is argued that low-WMC individuals' episodic retrieval deficits are partially due to the fact that these individuals search through a larger set of items than high-WMC individuals. Simulations based on a random search model were consistent with these general conclusions.     

Social processing improves recall performance

One recent theory (Dunbar, 2003) has highlighted the importance that processing social information might have had on the evolution of human cognition. Based on an analysis of that theory, researchers predicted that processing information in a social manner would improve recall performance in comparison with nonsocial processing. In order to test this prediction, three experiments were conducted in which participants studied 30-item word lists that were composed of common character traits (Experiment 1) or common category exem-plars (Experiments 2 and 3). Next, participants reviewed 5 list items that were purportedly recalled by either a group member or the computer. Finally, after a brief distractor task, participants were asked to complete an individual recall test for all of the items on the original 30-item list. Of primary interest was recall performance for the list items that were purportedly recalled by either another participant or the computer. We observed that recall performance for list items purportedly recalled by another participant was superior to that for items that were recalled by the computer.     

Part-list recall following part-whole learning

Following five trials of part-list free recall learning and six trials of whole-list free recall learning, Ss were asked to recall the part-list items on two successive trials. Experimental Ss whose whole list contained all of the part-list items recalled more part-list items than did control Ss whose whole list contained none of the part-list items. The data are inconsistent with current notion of subjective organization.     

记忆的前向测试效应对老年人学习新事物的作用

为检验前置测试是否可以有效地提升老年人学习新事物的能力,参与实验的老年人被随机分为有前置测试的实验组和无前置测试的对照组,在实验1中学习了5列单词,在实验2中记忆了5列日用品,在实验3中学习了4段讲座视频。结果表明,实验组老年人对新事物的记忆成绩均高于对照组的老年人。结论认为,前置测试能够显著提升老年人学习新事物的能力,干扰降低与学习参与相结合的“加减”理论能更好地解释提升老年人记忆的前向测试效应。     

Hypermnesia in free recall and cued recall

In three experiments, categorized lists and both free recall and cued recall tests were used to examine hypermnesia. In Experiment 1, materials were drawn from obvious and nonobvious categories in an attempt to vary the amount of relational processing at encoding. The study materials in Experiment 2 consisted of a long word list that comprised several exemplars from each of a number of common categories. In Experiment 3, a single exemplar was drawn from each of 45 categories. In each experiment, similar magnitudes of hypermnesia were obtained on free and cued recall tests. Examination of the specific items recalled across tests indicated that similar processes underlie the hypermnesic effect for both test conditions. Implications of the results for extant accounts of the hypermnesic effect are discussed. It is concluded that the dynamics of retrieval processes change in a systematic fashion across repeated tests and the retention interval following study and that an adequate account of the nature of these changes in retrieval dynamics is essential to our understanding of hypermnesia and related phenomena.     

Temporal–contextual processing in working memory: Evidence from delayed cued recall and delayed free recall tests

Three experiments are reported that addressed the nature of processing in working memory by investigating patterns of delayed cued recall and free recall of items initially studied during complex and simple span tasks. In Experiment 1, items initially studied during a complex span task (i.e., operation span) were more likely to be recalled after a delay in response to temporal–contextual cues, relative to items from subspan and supraspan list lengths in a simple span task (i.e., word span). In Experiment 2, items initially studied during operation span were more likely to be recalled from neighboring serial positions during delayed free recall than were items studied during word span trials. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the number of attentional refreshing opportunities strongly predicts episodic memory performance, regardless of whether the information is presented in a spaced or massed format in a modified operation span task. The results indicate that the content–context bindings created during complex span trials reflect attentional refreshing opportunities that are used to maintain items in working memory.     

支持性条件对记忆年龄差异的影响

通过三个实验探讨支持性条件对记忆年龄差异的影响。结果表明,在操作条件下记忆高语义关联度项目时,有缩小记忆年龄差异的作用,(实验一);线索回忆时,对于低语义关联度项目,青年人可从名词线索中获得更多支持(实验二);当使用具范畴组织关系的词表作为记忆材料时,操作条件和范畴线索的结合对老年人记忆有干扰作用(实验三)。记忆中年龄差异的变化反映了编码条件、记忆材料和提取条件三方面的综合作用。     

Ageing stereotypes influence the transmission of false memories in the social contagion paradigm

ABSTRACT

These experiments are the first to investigate the impact of confederate accuracy, age, and age stereotypes in the social contagion of memory paradigm. Across two experiments, younger participants recalled household scenes with an actual (Experiment 1) or virtual (Experiment 2), older or younger confederate who suggested different proportions (0%, 33% or 100%) of false items during collaboration. In Experiment 2, positive and negative age stereotypes were primed by providing bogus background information about our older confederate before collaboration. Across both experiments, if confederates suggested false items participants readily incorporated these into their own memory reports. In Experiment 1, when no age stereotype was primed, participants adopted similar proportions of false items from younger and older confederates. Importantly, in Experiment 2, when our older confederate was presented in terms of negative ageing stereotypes, participants reported less false items and were better able to correctly identify the source of those false items.     

表象编码对基于词表的错误记忆的影响

采用DRM范式,探讨不同表象编码时间和不同表象编码加工程度对基于词表的错误记忆的影响。在学习阶段,被试对呈现的词进行记忆。在测试阶段,被试在每个词列表学习结束后立即对该词列表进行自由回忆,分心任务结束后进行再认测试。实验结果发现：（1）被试在5秒编码条件下的错误记忆率显著低于3秒编码条件下的错误记忆率;（2）在5秒表象编码时间条件下,深加工组被试的错误记忆率显著低于浅加工组。这说明在较长的编码时间里,时间越长记住的细节信息越多,错误记忆率越低;加工程度越深,错误记忆率越低。     

表象编码对基于词表的错误记忆的影响

采用DRM范式,探讨不同表象编码时间和不同表象编码加工程度对基于词表的错误记忆的影响。在学习阶段,被试对呈现的词进行记忆。在测试阶段,被试在每个词列表学习结束后立即对该词列表进行自由回忆,分心任务结束后进行再认测试。实验结果发现：（1）被试在5秒编码条件下的错误记忆率显著低于3秒编码条件下的错误记忆率;（2）在5秒表象编码时间条件下,深加工组被试的错误记忆率显著低于浅加工组。这说明在较长的编码时间里,时间越长记住的细节信息越多,错误记忆率越低;加工程度越深,错误记忆率越低。     

Can intentional forgetting reduce false memory? Effects of list-level and item-level forgetting

This study examined whether false memory produced by the learning of lists of categorized and associative materials could be reduced by directed forgetting. The number of items within a list that participants were asked to remember or forget was manipulated, while the length of the list remained constant. Experiment 1a used categorized lists and Experiment 1b used associative lists; the participants performed immediate free recall and cued recall tests. For both the categorized and associative lists, the rate of false recall increased upon increasing the proportion of "forget" (F) words. After removing the immediate recall test, Experiment 2 found that intentionally forgetting part of the studied list reduced false memory, whereas forgetting the whole studied list did not. The results are discussed in terms of the list-level-vs.-item-level inhibition in semantic activation and the role of monitoring in reducing false memory.     

Short-term memory in autism spectrum disorder

Three experiments examined verbal short-term memory in comparison and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participants. Experiment 1 involved forward and backward digit recall. Experiment 2 used a standard immediate serial recall task where, contrary to the digit-span task, items (words) were not repeated from list to list. Hence, this task called more heavily on item memory. Experiment 3 tested short-term order memory with an order recognition test: Each word list was repeated with or without the position of 2 adjacent items swapped. The ASD group showed poorer performance in all 3 experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that group differences were due to memory for the order of the items, not to memory for the items themselves. Confirming these findings, the results of Experiment 3 showed that the ASD group had more difficulty detecting a change in the temporal sequence of the items.     

Memory for things forgotten.

As previous research has shown, items not recalled on an initial memory task are not simply forgotten. Often, some can be recalled on a later, second task. Further, subjects can generally predict, in terms of feeling-of-knowing (FOK) ratings, which items will be subsequently recalled. Two experiments were carried out to assess both second-task performance and FOK accuracy for unrecalled items as a function of two factors, encoding manipulations (levels of processing in Experiment 1, study time in Experiment 2) and the nature of the second task (explicit or implicit cued stem completion). Results indicate that although levels of processing affected explicit second-task performance more than implicit second-task performance, it increased FOK accuracy in both types of tasks. Study time, however, affected FOK accuracy only in the explicit second task. Apparently, only when subjects were able to do some elaborative processing on the items did their FOK ratings reflect information relating to factors that drive performance on implicit tasks.     

Fluctuations in recall across successive test trials

The purpose of the experiment was to determine whether item fluctuation (intertrial forgetting and spontaneous recovery) depends upon the time allowed for recall and/or the demand characteristics of the experimental situation (manipulated via instructions to S). One hundred. and forty-four university undergraduates studied a 36-item list and then had two successive recall trials which were 9, 36, or 144 sec in duration. On the second recall trial, Ss were instructed to recall previously recalled items only (“old”), previously nonrecalled items only (“new”), or both previously recalled items and previously nonrecalled items (“both”). The results suggest two conclusions: (1) Although recall trial duration affects the overall amount of recall, it does not affect the amount of item fluctuation; and (2) an instruction to recall only “old” items or to recall only “new” items results in suppression of the nonrequested items without a corresponding facilitation for the requested items.     

The effects of a levels-of-processing manipulation on false recall

The present study attempted to determine the effect of a levels-of-processing manipulation on the incidence of false recall. In Experiment 1, participants engaged in either a vowel counting task or a concrete/abstract rating task; in Experiment 2, participants engaged in either a vowel counting task or a category sorting task. Results of both experiments demonstrated that participants who engaged in a deeper level of processing (i.e., concrete/abstract ratings or category sorting) recalled significantly more list items and critical lures. The present findings thus lend support to theories that attribute false memories to activation-based factors.     

The effects of cueing and constraint instructions on children's free recall performance

The performance of nursery school children was investigated in two experiments involving cued and constrained free recall. Under constrained instructions, subjects were required to recall items by category. Under cued instructions subjects could recall items in any order they wished but the organized nature of the lists was identified and subjects were told that they would remember more if they recalled things from the same category together. No effects of cueing instructions were obtained in either Experiment I or Experiment II. Constrained recall instructions led to enhanced recall and category clustering. However, the beneficial effects were not maintained on later trials with the same list or on a transfer list when the constraints on recall were dropped. In addition, the introduction of constrained recall instructions had identical effects whether they were introduced early or late in practice. The results were discussed in terms of the influences of variables which affect the subjects' use of retrieval strategies and the development of memory.     

Differential allocation of study time: Incomplete compensation for the difficulty of the materials

The results of many experiments have shown that although people distribute their study time depending on the perceived difficulty of the materials, they do not succeed in compensating for this difficulty (e.g., Mazzoni & Cornoldi, 1993). The purpose of this paper was to explore possible ways to induce compensation. The objective difficulty of the items was varied by manipulating their concreteness. In Experiment 1, we explored whether compensation could be increased through practice. In Experiment 2, predictive memory judgements were obtained to determine to what extent participants were sensitive to the characteristics of the material that made it difficult. Finally, in Experiment 3, participants were given instructions designed to achieve complete compensation. Results showed that although participants' judgements of learning and their allocation of time were sensitive to the objective difficulty of the materials, this knowledge was not spontaneously used to compensate. Thus, even with practice participants recalled more easy items than difficult ones. Only instructions that induced greater awareness of the nature of the material were able to produce complete compensation.