Testing improves true recall and protects against the build-up of proactive interference without increasing false recall

Retrieval practice has been shown to protect against the negative effects of previously learned information on the learning of subsequent information, while increasing retention of new information. We report three experiments investigating the impact of retrieval practice on false recall in a multiple list paradigm. In three different experimental designs participants studied blocks of interrelated words that converged on non-presented associates. Participants were tested either after every study block or only after the fifth study block, and both groups received a cumulative test on all five study blocks. Overall the results from all three different experimental designs point to a benefit of testing in increasing long-term veridical recall on the cumulative test. More importantly, this improvement in veridical recall did not come at a cost: False recall on the cumulative test did not increase from retrieval practice.     

Revisiting the rise and fall of false recall: Presentation rate effects depend on retention interval

Leading theories of false memory predict that veridical and false recall of lists of semantically associated words can be dissociated by varying the presentation speed during study. Specifically, as presentation rate increases from milliseconds to seconds, veridical recall is predicted to increase monotonically while false recall is predicted to show a rapid rise and then a slow decrease—a pattern shown by McDermott and Watson (2001) in a study using immediate recall tests. In three experiments we tested the generality of the effects of rapid presentation rates on veridical and false memory. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants exhibited high levels of false recall on a delayed recall test, even for very fast stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA)—contrary to predictions from leading theories of false memory. When we switched to an immediate recall test in Experiment 3 we replicated the pattern predicted by the theories and observed by McDermott and Watson. Follow-up analyses further showed that the relative output position of false recalls is not affected by presentation rate, contrary to predictions from fuzzy trace theory. Implications for theories of false memory, including activation monitoring theory and fuzzy trace theory, are discussed.     

The role of recall time in producing hypermnesia

In two experiments subjects presented with either words or pictures showed improved recall over three successive recall tests for both types of materials, partially replicating Erdelyi’s finding of hypermnesia. However, these subjects did not recall more unique items than other subjects who received only one test equated in time with the three shorter ones. It is concluded that hypermnesia results from simply allowing subjects additional recall time. In a third experiment subjects were shown to recall additional information even after a long recall period employed during an experimental session. This surprising amount of item recovery during long recall periods is attributed to the use of subjective retrieval cues that are thought to function in a manner analogous to externally manipulated cues.     

Retrieval-induced forgetting and part-list cuing in associatively structured lists

Using DRM lists (Roediger & McDermott, 1995) in two experiments, we compared the effects of retrieval practice on a subset of the items and of the presentation of those items as retrieval cues at test on recall of the lists' critical items. In Experiment 1, the critical items were part of the studied lists, thus addressing these items' veridical recall; in Experiment 2, they were not studied, thus addressing these items' false recall. Three major results emerged. First, retrieval practice and part-list cuing reduced both veridical and false recall. Second, the two manipulations induced an integration effect in veridical recall, with substantial forgetting in lists with low false recall levels and no forgetting in lists with high false recall levels. Third, retrieval practice and part-list cuing created the same effects on recall, qualitatively and quantitatively. These results suggest that the detrimental effects of retrieval practice and part-list cuing were mediated by similar mechanisms. They are consistent with the view that not only retrieval-induced forgetting, but also part-list cuing is caused by inhibitory processes.     

The development of automatic and controlled inhibitory retrieval processes in true and false recall

In three experiments, we investigated the role of automatic and controlled inhibitory retrieval processes in true and false memory development in children and adults. Experiment 1 incorporated a directed forgetting task to examine controlled retrieval inhibition. Experiments 2 and 3 used a part-set cue and retrieval practice task to examine automatic retrieval inhibition. In the first experiment, the forget cue had no effect on false recall for adults but reduced false recall for children. In Experiments 2 and 3, both tasks caused retrieval impairments for true and false recall, and this occurred for all age groups. Implicit inhibition, which occurs outside of our conscious control, appears early in childhood. However, because young children do not process false memories as automatically as adults, explicit inhibition can reduce false memory output.     

Hypermnesia occurs in recall but not in recognition

Two experiments investigated the effect of encoding conditions and type of test (recall vs. recognition) on the phenomenon of hypermnesia (improved performance across repeated tests). Subjects in Experiment 1 studied a list of words using either imaginal or semantic elaboration strategies and then received three successive tests. Different groups of subjects received either free recall, four-alternative forced-choice recognition, or yes/no recognition tests. Reliable hypermnesia was found only in the recall conditions, with the recognition conditions showing either no change in performance levels across tests (forced-choice tests) or significant forgetting (yes/no tests). In Experiment 2, subjects studied a list of words, and encoding was manipulated using three orienting tasks. Once again, hypermnesia was found with the recall tests but not with the forced choice recognition tests. Finding hypermnesia in recall but not in recognition indicates that retrieval processes in recall play a major role in producing hypermnesia. Also, the finding that the magnitude of the recall hypermnesias increased with an increase in total cumulative recall levels across study conditions suggests that cumulative recall levels are an important factor in determining the presence or absence of recall hypermnesia.     

Revisiting the rise and fall of false recall: Presentation rate effects depend on retention interval

Leading theories of false memory predict that veridical and false recall of lists of semantically associated words can be dissociated by varying the presentation speed during study. Specifically, as presentation rate increases from milliseconds to seconds, veridical recall is predicted to increase monotonically while false recall is predicted to show a rapid rise and then a slow decrease-a pattern shown by McDermott and Watson (2001) in a study using immediate recall tests. In three experiments we tested the generality of the effects of rapid presentation rates on veridical and false memory. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants exhibited high levels of false recall on a delayed recall test, even for very fast stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA)-contrary to predictions from leading theories of false memory. When we switched to an immediate recall test in Experiment 3 we replicated the pattern predicted by the theories and observed by McDermott and Watson. Follow-up analyses further showed that the relative output position of false recalls is not affected by presentation rate, contrary to predictions from fuzzy trace theory. Implications for theories of false memory, including activation monitoring theory and fuzzy trace theory, are discussed.     

Need for Cognition and false recall

Two experiments investigated whether Need for Cognition (NFC) affected false recall in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. In the first experiment, participants were presented with DRM lists and given one attempt to recall the items. In the second experiment, participants were presented with DRM lists under full or divided attention and were given three consecutive recall tests. In Experiment 2, high-NFC individuals exhibited increased false recall across successive recall attempts in both the full and divided attention conditions whereas low-NFC individuals did not. Furthermore, high-NFC individuals in the full attention condition exhibited increased levels of true recall across successive tests. These results show that the individual differences in the ways in which individuals process information can affect true and false recall in the DRM task.     

The effects of free recall testing on subsequent source memory

The testing effect is the finding that prior retrieval of information from memory will result in better subsequent memory for that material. One explanation for these effects is that initial free recall testing increases the recollective details for tested information, which then becomes more available during a subsequent test phase. In three experiments we explored this hypothesis using a source-monitoring test phase after the initial free recall tests. We discovered that memory is differentially enhanced for certain recollective details depending on the nature of the free recall task. Thus further research needs to be conducted to specify how different kinds of memorial details are enhanced by free recall testing.     

Recognition and recall as measures of long-term retention

Acquisition and retention of a list of paired associates were measured either by cued recall or by multiple-choice recognition. The method of testing used during original learning was combined factorially with the type of test administered after a 1-week interval. Speed of learning to criterion under the two procedures was comparable. Long-term recognition was substantially higher than recall. This difference did not interact significantly with the method of learning. Recall benefited substantially from a prior test of recognition, but there was little effect when the order of tests was reversed. It is concluded that (a) both occurrence and retrieval information were stored under each condition of learning, and (b) occurrence information is less subject to forgetting than retrieval information.     

Providing information about diagnostic features at retrieval reduces false recognition

In the following study, participants encoded blocked DRM word lists and we varied whether they received information before test about the utility of mnemonic features that potentially discriminate between veridical and false memories. The results of three experiments revealed that this manipulation successfully reduced false recognition of critical theme words. We also found that this manipulation was effective for younger but not older adults. Furthermore, calling attention to the features in test instructions alone was sufficient for reducing false recognition and its effectiveness was not enhanced by also asking participants to rate their phenomenal experience. We argue that providing diagnostic information before test allows participants to establish more accurate expectations about the task and thus improves the efficacy of retrieval and monitoring processes that are subsequently engaged.     

The fSAM model of false recall

The authors report a new theory of false memory building upon existing associative memory models and implemented in fSAM, the first fully specified quantitative model of false recall. Participants frequently intrude unstudied critical words while recalling lists comprising their strongest semantic associates but infrequently produce other extralist and prior-list intrusions. The authors developed the theory by simulating recall of such lists, using factorial combinations of semantic mechanisms operating at encoding, retrieval, or both stages. During encoding, unstudied words' associations to list context were strengthened in proportion to their strength of semantic association either to each studied word or to all co-rehearsed words. During retrieval, words received preference in proportion to their strength of semantic association to the most recently recalled single word or multiple words. The authors simulated all intrusion types and veridical recall for lists varying in semantic association strength among studied and critical words from the same and different lists. Multiplicative semantic encoding and retrieval mechanisms performed well in combination. Using such combined mechanisms, the authors also simulated several core findings from the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm literature, including developmental patterns, specific list effects, association strength effects, and true-false correlations. These results challenge existing false-memory theories.     

Retrieval processes in recall

A reaction time (RT) paradigm was developed to study retrieval processes in paired associate (PA) recall. Prior to the experimental session, subjects learned lists of PAs (varying in length from three to 24 pairs); during the experimental session, subjects' RT to say the response word from the onset of a visually presented stimulus word was measured. The implications of several classes of retrieval models were discussed in the context of this paradigm. The shape of the RT-list length function, practice, and sequential effects were all of interest in distinguishing among models. Four experiments were reported which were designed to (1) establish the baseline effects in this paradigm, (2) determine which of these effects should be attributed to the retrieval stage of processing, and (3) investigate the effect of semantic memory in this task. Results suggest that simple serial scanning models are inadequate to handle the data from this task. Strength, direct-access, or parallel processing models, on the other hand, seem to capture the qualitative effects present in our experiments. When a strength model was formalized and fit to the data from Experiment I, it was found that a two-trace version gave good quantitative fits while a one-trace version did not, suggesting that both short- and long-term memory independently contribute in this task.     

Target strength and retrieval-induced forgetting in semantic recall

Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) occurs when practice of a memory item impairs retrieval of related, unpracticed items. Here, we demonstrated that RIF in semantic memory is retrieval dependent. University students either studied (7 × 8 = 56) or retrieved (7 × 8 = ?) the answers to a set of multiplication problems for 40 blocks and then were tested on their addition counterparts (7 + 8 = ?). For the retrieval practice group, but not the study practice group, response time for the multiplication-practiced addition facts was about 100 msec slower, relative to control addition problems, in the first of five postpractice addition blocks. Subsequent blocks of addition were interleaved with retrieval blocks of all the multiplication counterparts, which permitted measurement of RIF for the control addition problems after only a single retrieval of their multiplication counterparts. The control problems presented RIF in excess of 200 msec, much larger than the RIF observed after massive practice. This is consistent with the hypothesis that inhibition of competitors should be weaker when target strength is high than when target strength is only moderate (Anderson, 2003; Norman, Newman, &; Detre, 2007). The evidence that RIF in semantic retrieval is both retrieval dependent and weaker following massive target practice than following moderate target practice provides strong support for inhibition-based theories of RIF.     

Semantic and acoustic processing in free and cued recall by educable mentally retarded adolescents

The abilities of educable mentally retarded adolescents to encode and retrieve words with semantic and acoustic cues were investigated in a free and cued recall task. On each of three trial blocks, seven groups of subjects were presented 20 unrelated stimulus words. Groups received either semantic, acoustic, or no encoding cues along with the stimuli. Free recall was requested from all subjects, followed immediately by a second period of either free recall or cued recall with the semantic or acoustic cues. Semantic cues were most effective when presented both at encoding and retrieval. The subjects were unable to use acoustic information as effective retrieval aids. Results were discussed in terms of encoding dimension dominance and mediational deficiencies.     

Differences in encoding for free recall vs. recognition

Three experiments examined effects of test expectancy on memory for relatively unrelated words. In Experiment I, where preliminary recall or recognition practice was given, both recall and recognition were superior when the subjects expected and had practiced for recall. Free study led to better recall and recognition than paced presentation, but did not interact with test expectancy. Experiment II demonstrated that recall was better for subjects expecting a recall vs. a recognition test in the absence of preliminary practice. In Experiment III all subjects practiced both recall and recognition prior to presentation of the critical list. Study time also was varied. With longer study, recall was better when a recall test was expected, with no test expectancy effect on recognition. There were no appreciable expectancy effects with the short study period. Self-reports and other data suggested that the critical encoding differences produced by test expectancy manipulation were quantitative in nature.     

Testing a modified cognitive interview with category clustering recall in Iran

The cognitive interview (CI) has been an effective method for interviewing eyewitnesses often leading to changes in legislation and practice in many countries. This study was the first to employ the CI in Iran and test whether category clustering recall (CCR) was superior to a free recall when incorporated within an investigative interview. A between‐subjects design assigned 66 participants to one of three interview conditions after they watched a mock robbery. The participants were interviewed 48 hr later using either a structured interview (SI), the CI, or a modified cognitive interview (MCI) that replaced free recall with CCR at the first retrieval attempt. Analysis of variance suggests CCR was more effective than free recall and the CI group recalled more information than the SI group, replicating the CI superiority effect. This has implications for law enforcement in Iran and worldwide by suggesting these techniques can be used to enhance recall.     

Effects of short-term retrieval on adult age differences in long-term recall of actions.

In Experiment 1 young and elderly subjects either recalled or repeated after every block of 4 actions, whereas control subjects received neither interpolated short-term recall nor action repetition. On a later long-term memory test, experimental subjects, regardless of age or condition, recalled slightly more actions than control subjects. In Experiment 2 young adult and elderly subjects received 12 short-term memory trials in which 2 actions were performed on each trial, but only 1 was cued for recall after a brief retention interval filled with a distracting activity. On a later long-term memory test for the actions performed on the short-term trials, both young and elderly subjects recalled significantly more previously cued than noncued actions. The Age X Cuing Condition interaction was negligible. Prior retrieval of actions appears to enhance later recall regardless of age but seemingly only when prior retrieval requires considerable cognitive effort (as in Experiment 2).     

The order of recall and the recall of order

Adelphi University, Garden City, Long Island, New York 11530 Four experiments are described. The first three lend support to the assertion that retrieval from short-term storage (STS) is improved, possibly to a maximum, if items are recalled in their originally presented order. In the fourth experiment a modified recall condition was introduced in which written position of recall reflected order information. Although the subject was not constrained to recall the items in order under this modified recall condition, both item and order retention increased in comparison to both free and serial recall conditions. Within the theoretical framework adopted, the results indicate that retrieval from STS is improved by recalling in order; while long-term storage (LTS) is reduced by the constraint to recall in order. However, LTS is increased by the retention of order information when recalling in order is not required.     

Awareness of the false memory manipulation and false recall for people's names as critical lures in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm

In the present study, people's names were used as Critical Lures (central concept not on the lists) in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm for studying false recall. Following Mukai, the transparency of false memory manipulation in the paradigm was manipulated to explore its influence on false recall. 80 volunteers (age range 17-30 years, M age = 20.9 yr., SD = 1.6) took part. Analyses showed that making the critical lure inconspicuous did not significantly increase false recall. However, the proportion of falsely recalled Critical Lures was significantly lower and the proportion of critical lures produced on a postrecall test (asking participants to report items that they had thought of but did not recall) was significantly higher when they spontaneously realized the nature of false memory manipulation. However, there was no effect on veridical recall of study items. These results suggest that participants strategically avoided reporting false recall for people's names as Critical Lures even without forewarning about false memory.