| Abstract: | Five experiments were conducted to compare source memory to target memory. For the current purposes, source memory was defined as information that was learned from two sources (i.e. information input) whereas target memory was defined as information that was delivered to two sources (i.e. information output). The paradigm that we developed involved receiving concrete objects from two people in the source‐monitoring conditions or giving away these same objects to two people in the target‐monitoring conditions. This procedure allowed a direct comparison of source monitoring to target monitoring holding all other experimental variables constant. Target‐monitoring performance exceeded source monitoring except when the decision component of target monitoring was eliminated and incorporated into source monitoring. Commonalities and differences between source and target monitoring are discussed as are the real‐world implications of target memory for social behavior and facilitating communication. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
