Recognition failure of categorized words

Previous research has demonstrated that the phenomenon of recognition failure of recallable words does not hold for categorized word pairs (e.g.,flower-ROSE). We tested the hypothesis that such an exceptional finding is attributable to the use of homogeneous lists that create a situation in which the functional recall cues do not contain any information not already contained in the recognition cues. In three experiments in which categorized word pairs were used, but whose design ruled out the invariant informational overlap between recognition and recall cues, recognition failure was found to the extent expected by Tulving and Wiseman’s (1975) function. These results add to the evidence that the relation between recognition and cued recall in recognition-failure experiments is largely invariant over many otherwise relevant variables that affect recognition and recall.     

A multinomial modeling analysis of the recognition-failure paradigm

The recognition-failure paradigm has received much theoretical consideration, especially the Tulving-Wiseman function and its exceptions. We show that the Tulving-Wiseman function does a poor job of accounting for the data, both when its fit is measured with a model-based, goodness-of-fit statistic and when a logically equivalent reformulation of the function is compared with data. We then present a simple multinomial model based on retrieval-independence theory that is capable of measuring storage and retrieval processes in recognition failure. The model is used to conduct a meta-analysis of the recognition-failure paradigm, and shows that violations of the Tulving-Wiseman function occur under conditions in which weak storage is coupled with strong retrieval. In addition, if storage and retrieval are assumed to be positively correlated across conditions, the model produces a theoretically motivated, alternative equation to the Tulving-Wiseman function that provides a virtually identical fit to the data.     

Representations, predictions, and remembrances in CHARM: a reply to Lindsay (1991)

Lindsay (1991), in his comment CHARMed, but not Convinced: Comment on Metcalfe (1990), acknowledged that distributed models of human memory using the construct of a composite memory trace, such as the Composite Holographic Associative Recall Model (CHARM), are able to account for most of the findings within the eyewitness-testimony paradigm. Despite this success, Lindsay found CHARM to be of limited usefulness as a model of eyewitness suggestibility. The reasons stated for this peculiar conclusion are discussed in this rebuttal.     

Learning 10000 pictures

Four experiments are reported which examined memory capacity and retrieval speed for pictures and for words. Single-trial learning tasks were employed throughout, with memory performance assessed by forced-choice recognition, recall measures or choice reaction-time tasks. The main experimental findings were: (1) memory capacity, as a function of the amount of material presented, follows a general power law with a characteristic exponent for each task; (2) pictorial material obeys this power law and shows an overall superiority to verbal material. The capacity of recognition memory for pictures is almost limitless, when measured under appropriate conditions; (3) when the recognition task is made harder by using more alternatives, memory capacity stays constant and the superiority of pictures is maintained; (4) picture memory also exceeds verbal memory in terms of verbal recall; comparable recognition/recall ratios are obtained for pictures, words and nonsense syllables; (5) verbal memory shows a higher retrieval speed than picture memory, as inferred from reaction-time measures. Both types of material obey a power law, when reaction-time is measured for various sizes of learning set, and both show very rapid rates of memory search.

From a consideration of the experimental results and other data it is concluded that the superiority of the pictorial mode in recognition and free recall learning tasks is well established and cannot be attributed to methodological artifact.     

Walking through doorways causes forgetting: recall

The aim of the current study was to explore how the location updating effect is affected when people are tested using recall rather than recognition, which is what has been done in prior work. Differences in the memory processes involved with these two tasks lead to predictions for two different patterns of data. In Experiment 1, memory was tested by having participants recall the single object they were carrying or had just put down, whereas in Experiment 2, people sometimes needed to recall both objects. It was found that, unlike recognition test performance, a similar location updating effect was found for both Associated (what was currently being carried) and Dissociated (what was recently set down) objects. Moreover, when both objects were correctly recalled, there was a bias to remember them in the order that they were encountered. Finally, if only one object was correctly recalled, it was the Associated object that was currently being carried. Overall, these results are consistent with the Event Horizon Model of event cognition.     

Interaction between mode of learning and subjective experience: Translation effects in long-term memory

It has been suggested that writing auditorily presented words at encoding involves distinctive translation processes between visual and auditory domains, leading to the formation of distinctive memory traces at retrieval. This translation effect leads to higher levels of recognition than the writing of visually presented words, a non-translation effect. The present research investigated whether writing and the other translation effect of vocalisation (vocalising visually presented words) would be present in tests of recall, recognition memory and whether these effects are based on the subjective experience of remembering or knowing. Experiment 1 found a translation effect in the auditory domain in recall, as the translation effect of writing yielded higher recall than both non-translation effects of vocalisation and silently hearing. Experiment 2 found a translation effect in the visual domain in recognition, as the translation effect of vocalisation yielded higher recognition than both non-translation effects of writing and silently reading. This translation effect was attributable to the subjective experience of remembering rather than knowing. The present research therefore demonstrates the beneficial effect of translation in both recall and recognition, with the effect of vocalisation in recognition being based on rich episodic remembering.     

Selective sex differences in declarative memory

Sex invariance of a six-factor, higher order model of declarative memory (two second-order factors: episodic and semantic memory; and four first-order factors: recall, recognition, fluency, and knowledge) was established for 1,796 participants (35-85 years). Metric invariance of first- and second-order factor loadings across sex was demonstrated. At the second-order level, a female advantage was observed for both episodic and semantic memory. At the first-order level, sex differences in episodic memory were apparent for both recall and recognition, whereas the differences in semantic memory were driven by a female superiority in fluency. Additional tests of sex differences in three age groups (35-50, 55-65, and 70-85 years of age) indicated that the female superiority in declarative memory diminished with advancing age. The factor-specific sex differences are discussed in relation to sex differences in hippocampal function.     

States of awareness across multiple memory tasks: obtaining a "pure" measure of conscious recollection

Four experiments were conducted to examine the nature of recollective experience across different explicit memory tests. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that the proportion of retrieved items that were given Remember responses were equivalent across free recall, category cued recall, category plus letter cued recall, and recognition memory tests unlike the result reported by Tulving [Can. Psychol. 26 (1985) 1]. Experiments 3 and 4 revealed that Remember judgments are influenced by both conceptual and perceptual variables not only in the recognition task but in other explicit memory tasks as well. Taken together, the empirical evidence from this study demonstrates that explicit memory performance is accompanied by different states of awareness not only in recognition but also across other memory tasks including free recall.     

Paradoxical effects of presentation modality on false memory.

Two experiments are reported in which the effects of presentation modality on false memory in recall and recognition are studied. False recall and recognition of critical targets are lower for non-presented items related to a study list when that study list is presented visually than when presented auditorily. This pattern of low levels of false memory for critical targets holds even when participants read the visually presented study items aloud. These results suggest that recollection of visual detail plays a role in the prevention of false memory. However, both the hit rates (true memory) and the false-alarm rates to weakly related distractors (non-critical targets) were higher for visual presentation than for auditory presentation, suggesting that more than one mechanism may underlie false recognition.     

Mortality-Related Differences and Changes in Episodic Memory Among the Oldest Old: Evidence From a Population-Based Sample of Nonagenarians

We examined cross-sectional differences and longitudinal changes in episodic memory performance related to impending death among a group of very old people, aged 90–101 years. Participants were assessed at 3 measurement points across a 6-year interval. Three groups were identified: those who survived the entire follow-up period (n =40), those who died before the first follow-up (n =44), and those who died after the first follow-up (n =14). Participants completed a battery of episodic memory tasks consisting of face recognition, word recognition, word recall, and object recall with selective reminding. Those who survived performed better than those who were going to die in object recall at baseline. A Cox regression analysis, controlling age, revealed that object recall performance was significantly related to subsequent mortality status. Longitudinal analyses demonstrated significant 3-year decline for both face recognition and object recall, but no evidence of differential decline as a function of mortality group. Thus, longitudinal changes in memory preceding death were not as pronounced as the corresponding cross-sectional differences in this very old sample. In general, the results suggest that mortality-related memory deficits are present in extreme old age, although these deficits are relatively small and task-specific.     

Successive Tests of Pair Recognition

A large number of experiments have found a moderate degree of dependence between subsequent tests of recognition and cued recall as described by the TWfunction. This paper investigates the dependence in word pair recognition. Tests of word pair recognition are conducted with the subsequent test being free recall, cued recall, recognition, and cued recognition. The dependence is compared to subsequent tests of cued recognition (i.e. recognition of a target with the presence of a cue). The results are related to a general theory of memory called TECO (Target, Event, Cue, & Object, see Sikström 1996b). This theory makes different quantitative predictions depending on the number of shared connections in the subsequent tests. Using a function suggested by TECO, different degrees of dependencies are predicted for pair and cued recognition. The predictions of the TECO-function show a non-significant deviation from observed data, whereas those of the TW-function deviate significantly in all conditions.     

Successive tests of pair recognition

A large number of experiments have found a moderate degree of dependence between subsequent tests of recognition and cued recall as described by the TW-function. This paper investigates the dependence in word pair recognition. Tests of word pair recognition are conducted with the subsequent test being free recall, cued recall, recognition, and cued recognition. The dependence is compared to subsequent tests of cued recognition (i.e. recognition of a target with the presence of a cue). The results are related to a general theory of memory called TECO (Target, Event, Cue, & Object, see Sikstr?m 1996b). This theory makes different quantitative predictions depending on the number of shared connections in the subsequent tests. Using a function suggested by TECO, different degrees of dependencies are predicted for pair and cued recognition. The predictions of the TECO-function show a non-significant deviation from observed data, whereas those of the TW-function deviate significantly in all conditions.     

Episodic Memory in Adult Age and Effects of Sibship Size and Birth Order: Longitudinal Data

This study examined the effects of sibship size and birth order on episodic memory performance in adulthood and old age. Participants were 1,141 healthy individuals aged 35–80 years, who took part in a longitudinal project on age, health, and memory. Episodic memory measurements over a 5-year interval included tests of recognition (recognition of faces, family names, first names, and nouns) and tests of recall (free recall of sentences, free recall and cued recall of nouns, and recall of activities). Results showed significant effects for both recall and recognition, that is, the smaller the sibship size is for an individual and the earlier born, the better memory performance. These results demonstrate that the effects of sibship size and birth order previously shown in children and adolescents (Belmont and Marolla, Science 182:1096–1101, 1973; Zajonc and Markus, Psych Rev 82:74–88, 1975; Zajonc, Am Psychol 56:490–496, 2001) are robust over time and hold over a large adult range.     

Recognition and recall in amnesics

Although there is considerable agreement that performance in direct memory tasks (e.g., recall, recognition) is more disrupted by amnesia than performance in indirect memory tasks (e.g., mirror reading, word completion), one may be able to further circumscribe the deficit within the domain of direct memory tasks. The present article explores whether recall is disproportionately disrupted by amnesia compared to recognition. If amnesia affects memory uniformly across different direct memory measures, recall of normal controls should not differ from the recall of amnesics when recognition scores of these two groups are equated. On the other hand, if recall is disproportionately disrupted, normal recall should be superior to amnesic recall even when recognition is equated. The present study equated amnesic recognition with that of controls by providing amnesics with 8 s of study time and normal subjects with 0.5 s. Amnesics with Korsakoff's syndrome, amnesics with other etiologies, and appropriate controls were examined. Normal recall was superior to amnesic recall even when no differences were found in recognition. The results further specify the selective nature of amnesia.     

Relating distinctive orthographic and phonological processes to episodic memory performance

Three experiments examined the role of three distinctive perceptual factors in recognition and recall memory. Using a subject-paced presentation rate, the first two experiments (recognition and recall) examined (1) the number of phonological-to-orthographic neighbors, (2) phonological-to-orthographic consistency, and (3) orthographic-to-phonological consistency. The third experiment (recall) reexamined the number of phonological-to-orthographic neighbors, using an experimenter-paced presentation rate of 2 sec per item. In both recognition and recall memory tasks, the number of phonological-to-orthographic neighbors influenced memory performance, whereas the two types of consistency did not. The results indicate that having fewer phonological-to-orthographic neighbors (i.e., having distinct mappings between orthography and phonology, and between phonology and orthography, e.g., pulp) relieve words from interference in episodic memory tests for such words. Furthermore, words that are indistinct in terms of these mappings (e.g., tuck) are subject to interference from words with similar representations (e.g., luck, buck, stuck), and this weakens the memory trace for a particular word.     

Memory deficit caused by compressed air equivalent to 36 meters of seawater

Twenty-four students from a diving school undertook a hyperbaric chamber dive to a pressure equal to 36 m of seawater. Tests of cognitive function and manual dexterity, performed in the chamber during the 35-min bottom time and before, or after, the dive included immediate and delayed free recall of words presented as 7 lists of 15 each, recognition of previously presented words, number identification, and a forceps pickup of ball bearings. Delayed free recall and immediate free recall (primacy region) were significantly impaired, whereas manual dexterity and recognition memory were not. These are in keeping with previously reported findings but indicate that significant impairment of memory may occur in experienced divers at operational depths for air diving. Lack of effect on recognition memory suggests that cueing strategies might be useful for debriefing divers.     

On the relationship between recall and recognition memory.

The relationship between recall and recognition has been a central topic for the study of memory. A test of alternative views about recall and recognition was arranged by studying amnesic patients. In amnesia, damage has occurred to a brain system important for declarative (conscious) memory, but skill learning, priming, and other forms of nonconscious memory are intact. Recall and recognition were found to be proportionately impaired in amnesic patients, and confidence ratings for the recognition judgments were commensurate with the level of impaired performance. The results are contrary to views that either recognition memory or associated confidence judgments are ordinarily supported significantly by nonconscious memory. The results favor the view that recall and recognition are related functions of declarative memory and equivalently dependent on the brain system damaged in amnesia.     

Caffeine increases false memory in nonhabitual consumers

Insight into caffeine's equivocal effects on memory can be derived from work suggesting both emotional arousal and psychosocial stress increase false memory rates without increasing veridical memory. This study investigated how a range of caffeine doses affect veridical and false memory formation in nonhabitual consumers. A double-blind, repeated-measures design with caffeine (0 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, 400 mg caffeine) was used to examine memory using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Results showed that caffeine modulated arousal levels, peaking at 200 mg and returning to near baseline levels at 400 mg. Main effects of caffeine demonstrated higher critical lure recall and recognition ratings (i.e., false memory) as a function of dose, again peaking at 200 mg. Those who showed the highest arousal increases as a function of caffeine also tended to produce the highest false recall and recognition rates. Veridical memory was not affected. Results demonstrate that consumption of as little as 100 mg of caffeine elicits reliable inverted-U shape changes in arousal and, in turn, false memories in individuals who do not habitually consume caffeine.