Strength and resistance to interference in practiced recognition: memory retrieval abilities investigated through latent structure modeling. |
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Authors: | S R Chaiken |
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Affiliation: | Air Force Research Laboratory, Brooks Air Force Base, USA. scott.chaiken@.brooks.af.mil |
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Abstract: | Participants (N = 811) practiced paired-associate recognition with and without an interference manipulation and then practiced a pattern recognition skill in which patterns discriminated had features in common. Structure models of the covariances in task reaction times indicated two factors or abilities. The first was a baseline factor, hypothesized to include the ability to strengthen traces and other abilities common to all tasks. The second was a resistance-to-interference factor, or the ability to quickly retrieve associations with elements in common with nonretrieved associations. Further modeling on a subset of the sample (n = 434) showed the baseline factor to reflect a memory strength ability independent of other confounding abilities (e.g., motor, reading abilities). Both memory abilities are discussed broadly with respect to cognitive skill acquisition, controlled versus automatic processing, and activation. |
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