| Abstract: | Recent studies have suggested that closing the eyes helps memory retrieval in recall tests for audiovisual clips that contain multimodal information. In two experiments, we examined whether eye-closure improves recognition memory performance for word lists presented unimodally (i.e., visually or aurally). In the encoding phase, participants saw or heard a list of unrelated, meaningful word items. After a fixed retention interval of 1 week (Experiment 1, n = 110) and 5 min (Experiment 2, n = 44), the participants were asked to mentally rehearse the items with their eyes open or closed, and then they performed a recognition test. The results revealed no effect of eye-closure rehearsal on recognition performance. We discuss the possible reasons why no eye-closure benefit was found in recognition memory tests for unrelated word items. |
