Age-related changes in recognition and response criterion

Recognition performance does not usually change along the lifespan, but the response criterion usually does, and in general, it changes from being conservative during youth to being liberal, in old age. The focus of the present study is to analyze the changes that take place, both in discrimination and response criterion, as a result of aging in two recognition tasks: one with neutral images, and the other with faces showing positive and negative emotional expressions. Two groups of participants performed both tasks: young (N = 21; age range, 17-33 years), older (N = 21; age range, 65-91 years). The analyses of several discrimination parameters (d' and probability of recognition) and the response criterion yielded significant age differences. Thus, results indicated that the ability to discriminate of older participants was better than that of younger participants when having to recognize neutral images, and faces with negative emotional expressions. The response criterion of younger participants was always conservative, whereas older participants only showed liberal criteria in front of faces with emotional expressions. In relation to the neutral images, the response criterion of older participants was optimum, because it led to more hits, without increasing the false alarms. The results are partially explained by the tasks differential difficulty, and are discussed within the frame of Simulation theory.     

Strength-based criterion shifts in recognition memory

In manipulations of stimulus strength between lists, a more lenient signal detection criterion is more frequently applied to a weak than to a strong stimulus class. However, with randomly intermixed weak and strong test probes, such acriterion shift often does not result. A procedure that has yieldeddelay-based within-list criterion shifts was applied to strength manipulations in recognition memory for categorized word lists. When participants made semantic ratings about each stimulus word, strength-based criterion shifts emerged regardless of whether words from pairs of categories were studied in separate blocks (Experiment 1) or in intermixed blocks (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, the criterion shift persisted under the semantic-rating study task, but not under rote memorization. These findings suggest that continually adjusting the recognition decision criterion is cognitively feasible. They provide a technique for manipulating the criterion shift, and they identify competing theoretical accounts of these effects.     

Conflict and criterion setting in recognition memory

Recognition memory requires both retrieval processes and control processes such as criterion setting. Decision criteria were manipulated by offering different payoffs for correct "old" versus "new" responses. Criterion setting influenced the following late-occurring (1,000+ ms), conflict-sensitive event-related brain potential (ERP) components: the stimulus-locked late posterior negativity (LPN) and the response-locked error-related negativity (ERN). The LPN-ERN were most negative to hits under conservative payoff conditions involving conflict between the correct old response and the payoff for new responses. This same conservative-hit condition was most frequently associated with response reversals when fast initial judgments were followed by slower judgments. Postresponse ERP activity may index conflict-sensitive processes underlying postretrieval cognitive control mechanisms involved with assessing responses to current items and updating response criteria on later trials.     

Cue quality and criterion setting in recognition memory

Previous studies on how people set and modify decision criteria in old-new recognition tasks (in which they have to decide whether or not a stimulus was seen in a study phase) have almost exclusively focused on properties of the study items, such as presentation frequency or study list length. In contrast, in the three studies reported here, we manipulated the quality of the test cues in a scene-recognition task, either by degrading through Gaussian blurring (Experiment 1) or by limiting presentation duration (Experiment 2 and 3). In Experiments 1 and 2, degradation of the test cue led to worse old-new discrimination. Most importantly, however, participants were more liberal in their responses to degraded cues (i.e., more likely to call the cue “old”), demonstrating strong within-list, item-by-item, criterion shifts. This liberal response bias toward degraded stimuli came at the cost of increasing the false alarm rate while maintaining a constant hit rate. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 with additional stimulus types (words and faces) but did not provide accuracy feedback to participants. The criterion shifts in Experiment 3 were smaller in magnitude than Experiments 1 and 2 and varied in consistency across stimulus type, suggesting, in line with previous studies, that feedback is important for participants to shift their criteria.     

Adaptive memory: nature's criterion and the functionalist agenda

Memory researchers traditionally ignore function in favor of largely structural analyses. For example, it is well known that forming a visual image improves retention, and various proximate mechanisms have been proposed to account for the advantage (e.g., elaboration of the memory trace), but next to nothing is known about why memory evolved such sensitivities. Why did nature craft a memory system that is sensitive to imagery or the processing of meaning? Functional analyses are critical to progress in memory research for two main reasons: First, as in applied research, functional analyses provide the necessary criteria for measuring progress; second, there are good reasons to believe that modern cognitive processes continue to bear the imprint of ancestral selection pressures (i.e., cognitive systems are functionally designed). We review empirical evidence supporting the idea that memory evolved to enhance reproductive fitness; as a consequence, to maximize retention in basic and applied settings it is useful to develop encoding techniques that are congruent with the natural design of memory systems.     

Individual differences in shifting decision criterion: A recognition memory study

An ability to flexibly shift a decision criterion can be advantageous. For example, a known change in the base rate of targets and distractors on a recognition memory test will lead optimal decision makers to shift their criterion accordingly. In the present study, 95 individuals participated in two recognition memory tests that included periodic changes in the base rate probability that the test stimulus had been presented during the study session. The results reveal a wide variability in the tendency to shift decision criterion in response to this probability information, with some appropriately shifting and others not shifting at all. However, participants were highly reliable in their tendency to shift criterion across tests. The goal of the present study was to explain what factors account for these individual differences. To accomplish this, over 50 variables were assessed for each individual (e.g., personality, cognitive style, state of mind). Using a regression model that incorporated different sets of factors, over 50?% of the variance was accounted for. The results of the analysis describe the total, direct, and mediating effects on criterion shifting from factors that include memory strength, strategy, and inherent characteristics such as a fun-seeking personality, a negative affect, and military rank. The results are discussed with respect to understanding why participants rarely chose an optimal decision-making strategy and provide greater insight into the underlying mechanisms of recognition memory.     

Changing the criterion for memory conformity in free recall and recognition

People's responses during memory studies are affected by what other people say. This memory conformity effect has been shown in both free recall and recognition. Here we examine whether accurate, inaccurate, and suggested answers are affected similarly when the response criterion is varied. In the first study, participants saw four pictures of detailed scenes and then discussed the content of these scenes with another participant who saw the same scenes, but with a couple of details changed. Participants were either told to recall everything they could and not to worry about making mistakes (lenient), or only to recall items if they were sure that they were accurate (strict). The strict instructions reduced the amount of inaccurate information reported that the other person suggested, but also reduced the number of accurate details recalled. In the second study, participants were shown a large set of faces and then their memory recognition was tested with a confederate on these and fillers. Here also, the criterion manipulation shifted both accurate and inaccurate responses, and those suggested by the confederate. The results are largely consistent with a shift in response criterion affecting accurate, inaccurate, and suggested information. In addition we varied the level of secrecy in the participants’ responses. The effects of secrecy were complex and depended on the level of response criterion. Implications for interviewing eyewitnesses and line-ups are discussed.     

Changing the criterion for memory conformity in free recall and recognition

People's responses during memory studies are affected by what other people say. This memory conformity effect has been shown in both free recall and recognition. Here we examine whether accurate, inaccurate, and suggested answers are affected similarly when the response criterion is varied. In the first study, participants saw four pictures of detailed scenes and then discussed the content of these scenes with another participant who saw the same scenes, but with a couple of details changed. Participants were either told to recall everything they could and not to worry about making mistakes (lenient), or only to recall items if they were sure that they were accurate (strict). The strict instructions reduced the amount of inaccurate information reported that the other person suggested, but also reduced the number of accurate details recalled. In the second study, participants were shown a large set of faces and then their memory recognition was tested with a confederate on these and fillers. Here also, the criterion manipulation shifted both accurate and inaccurate responses, and those suggested by the confederate. The results are largely consistent with a shift in response criterion affecting accurate, inaccurate, and suggested information. In addition we varied the level of secrecy in the participants' responses. The effects of secrecy were complex and depended on the level of response criterion. Implications for interviewing eyewitnesses and line-ups are discussed.     

Cross-situational consistency in recognition memory response bias

Individuals taking an old–new recognition memory test differ widely in their bias to respond “old,” ranging from strongly conservative to strongly liberal, even without any manipulation intended to affect bias. Kantner and Lindsay (2012) found stability of bias across study–test cycles, suggesting that bias is a cognitive trait. That consistency, however, could have arisen because participants perceived the two tests as being part of the same experiment in the same context. In the present study, we tested for stability across two recognition study–test procedures embedded in markedly different experiments, held weeks apart, that participants did not know were connected. Bias showed substantial cross-situational stability. Moreover, bias weakly predicted identifications on an eyewitness memory task and accuracy on a go–no-go task. Although we found little in the way of relationships between bias and five personality measures, these findings suggest that response bias is a stable and broadly influential characteristic of recognizers.     

Detection and criterion change associated with different test contexts in recognition memory

Three groups of physics Ss and three groups of arts Ss viewed 20 physics words (PWs) and 20 common words (CWs) in a randomly ordered inspection sequence. Ss were then assigned to one of three recognition test conditions where the inspection items were embedded in different sequences of 120 additional words (60 PWs + 60 CWs; 100 PWs + 20 CWs, 20 pWs + 100 CWs). Signal-detection and Luce analyses examined the effects of the different test contexts on Ss′ true sensitivity and response bias. While all Ss found detection of PWs easier than CWs, these judgments varied according to the properties of the recognition sequences. This latter finding was interpreted as indicating that Ss adopted a conservative and probabilistic strategy for the recognition task as a whole rather than utilizing different strategies for PWs and the CWs where these would result in superior overall performance.     

On the dynamic nature of response criterion in recognition memory: effects of base rate, awareness, and feedback

The authors examined whether participants can shift their criterion for recognition decisions in response to the probability that an item was previously studied. Participants in 3 experiments were given recognition tests in which the probability that an item was studied was correlated with its location during the test. Results from all 3 experiments indicated that participants' response criteria were sensitive to the probability that an item was previously studied and that shifts in criterion were robust. In addition, awareness of the bases for criterion shifts and feedback on performance were key factors contributing to the observed shifts in decision criteria. These data suggest that decision processes can operate in a dynamic fashion, shifting from item to item.     

Strength cues and blocking at test promote reliable within-list criterion shifts in recognition memory

In seven experiments, we explored the potential for strength-based, within-list criterion shifts in recognition memory. People studied a mix of target words, some presented four times (strong) and others studied once (weak). In Experiments 1, 2, 4A, and 4B, the test was organized into alternating blocks of 10, 20, or 40 trials. Each block contained lures intermixed with strong targets only or weak targets only. In strength-cued conditions, test probes appeared in a unique font color for strong and weak blocks. In the uncued conditions of Experiments 1 and 2, similar strength blocks were tested, but strength was not cued with font color. False alarms to lures were lower in blocks containing strong target words, as compared with lures in blocks containing weak targets, but only when strength was cued with font color. Providing test feedback in Experiment 2 did not alter these results. In Experiments 3A–3C, test items were presented in a random order (i.e., not blocked by strength). Of these three experiments, only one demonstrated a significant shift even though strength cues were provided. Overall, the criterion shift was larger and more reliable as block size increased, and the shift occurred only when strength was cued with font color. These results clarify the factors that affect participants’ willingness to change their response criterion within a test list.     

Discriminating between changes in bias and changes in accuracy for recognition memory of emotional stimuli

A debate has emerged as to whether recognition of emotional stimuli is more accurate or more biased than recognition of nonemotional stimuli. Teasing apart changes in accuracy versus changes in bias requires a measurement model. However, different models have been adopted by different researchers, and this has contributed to the current debate. In this article, different measurement models are discussed, and the signal detection model that is most appropriate for recognition is adopted to investigate the effects of valence and arousal on recognition memory performance, using receiver operating characteristic analyses. In addition, complementary two-alternative forced choice experiments were conducted in order to generalize the empirical findings and interpret them under a relatively relaxed set of measurement assumptions. Across all experiments, accuracy was greater for highly valenced stimuli and stimuli with high arousal value. In addition, a bias to endorse positively valenced stimuli was observed. These results are discussed within an adaptive memory framework that assumes that emotion plays an important role in the allocation of attentional resources.     

On the measurement of criterion noise in signal detection theory: the case of recognition memory

Traditional approaches within the framework of signal detection theory (SDT; Green & Swets, 1966), especially in the field of recognition memory, assume that the positioning of response criteria is not a noisy process. Recent work (Benjamin, Diaz, & Wee, 2009; Mueller & Weidemann, 2008) has challenged this assumption, arguing not only for the existence of criterion noise but also for its large magnitude and substantive contribution to individuals' performance. A review of these recent approaches for the measurement of criterion noise in SDT identifies several shortcomings and confoundings. A reanalysis of Benjamin et al.'s (2009) data sets as well as the results from a new experimental method indicate that the different forms of criterion noise proposed in the recognition memory literature are of very low magnitudes, and they do not provide a significant improvement over the account already given by traditional SDT without criterion noise.     

Brain activations associated with shifts in response criterion on a recognition test.

Sensitivity and bias can be manipulated independently on a recognition test. The goal of this fMRI study was to determine whether neural activations associated with manipulations of a decision criterion would be anatomically distinct from neural activations associated with manipulations of memory strength and episodic retrieval. The results indicated that activations associated with shifting criteria (a manipulation of bias) were located in bilateral regions of the lateral cerebellum, lateral parietal lobe, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex extending from the supplementary motor area. These regions were anatomically distinct from activations in the prefrontal cortex produced during memory-based retrieval processes (manipulations of sensitivity), which tended to be more medial and anterior. These later activations are consistent with previous studies of episodic retrieval. Determining patterns of neural activations associated with decision-making processes relative to memory processes has important implications for Cognitive Neuroscience, including the use of these patterns to compare memory models in different paradigms.     

Refining CVLT-II recognition discriminability indices to enhance the characterization of recognition memory changes in healthy aging

The present study examined age-related differences on the four false-positive (FP) error subtypes found on the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition yes/no recognition memory trial and the influence of these subtypes on source and novel recognition discriminability (SoRD and NRD, respectively) index calculations. Healthy older (n = 55) adults generally made more FP errors than healthy young adults (n = 57). Accordingly, older adults performed worse than young adults on all SoRD and NRD indices. However, the manner in which FP error subtypes were incorporated into SoRD and NRD index calculations impacted the magnitudes of observed differences between and within the two age groups on SoRD and NRD indices. The present findings underline the importance of examining FP errors in assessments of recognition memory abilities, and using more refined indices of recognition discriminability to further elucidate the nature of age-related recognition memory impairment.     

More conservative go/no-go response criterion under high working memory load

Previous work has shown that the efficiency of selective attention depends on the availability of cognitive control functions, including working memory. Here we examined the role of working memory in another task involving executive control, namely, a go/no-go task. Participants performed the Sustained Attention to Response Task, which requires withholding a prepotent response to an infrequent target, when at the same time placing a low or high load on an unrelated working memory task. Working memory load had the effect of reducing accuracy on the go trials, when at the same time increasing accuracy on the no-go trials. We interpret these findings to suggest that high working memory load led to a shift to a more conservative response criterion.     

Test of competing explanations of the bizarre response bias in recognition memory

Recent research has demonstrated that a more liberal response criterion is used when people make judgments about bizarre items than about common items in old-new tests of recognition. The present study was designed to test 2 possible explanations of the bizarre response bias. The bizarre-relations explanation suggests that the bizarre response bias is triggered by the bizarre relations depicted in test items. The target-constituent explanation suggests that the bizarre response bias is the result of a sense of familiarity with constituents of bizarre test items. These explanations were tested by examining the influence of lure manipulations on memory discrimination and response bias for common and bizarre hand-drawn pictures. The results indicated support for the target-constituent explanation by reversing the response bias (obtaining a common response bias) in a recognition test that used common lures containing constituents from bizarre target items and bizarre lures containing constituents from common target items. The results also indicated that increased verbal elaboration enhanced memory discrimination and reduced response bias for both common and bizarre stimuli. The implications of these results are discussed with regard to the false memory controversy.