Manipulations of List Type in the DRM Paradigm: A Review of How Structural and Conceptual Similarity Affect False Memory

The use of list-learning paradigms to explore false memory has revealed several critical findings about the contributions of similarity and relatedness in memory phenomena more broadly. Characterizing the nature of “similarity and relatedness” can inform researchers about factors contributing to memory distortions and about the underlying associative and semantic networks that support veridical memory. Similarity can be defined in terms of semantic properties (e.g., shared conceptual and taxonomic features), lexical/associative properties (e.g., shared connections in associative networks), or structural properties (e.g., shared orthographic or phonological features). By manipulating the type of list and its relationship to a non-studied critical item, we review the effects of these types of similarity on veridical and false memory. All forms of similarity reviewed here result in reliable error rates and the effects on veridical memory are variable. The results across a variety of paradigms and tests provide partial support for a number of theoretical explanations of false memory phenomena, but none of the theories readily account for all results

Are episodic memory deficits in old age mediated by sensory loss? Investigating the Associative Deficit [abstract]

Abstract only availableResearch has shown that episodic memory performance declines with age, and the Associative-Deficit Hypothesis (ADH) (Naveh-Benjamin, 2000) attributes much of the deficient episodic memory performance of older adults to their difficulty in binding unrelated components of a situation into an organized, interrelated memory unit. Therefore, the memory of older adults for associations is proportionally much worse than their memory for items. The current study investigated loss of perceptual acuity as one potential source of the associative deficit. Face/name pairs were “perceptually degraded”, or blurred, at three different levels (none, slight, severe) to mimic the visual sensory losses that older adults experience. Younger and older adults were compared across their performance several trials consisting of a study list of face/name pairs followed by two types of memory tests (item and associative). The item tests required subjects to recognize individual faces and names, and the associative tests tested recognition for the pairings of faces and names. I expect to find a significant triple interaction between age, type of test, and perceptual degradation level. I predict that younger adults will perform at the same level on the item and associative test under the non degradation condition, and that perceptual degradation will cause poorer performance on the associative test, relative to the item test, as degradation level increases. For older adults, I predict that performance will be worse on the associative test relative to the item test across all three perceptual degradation conditions, with associative performance further declining as degradation level increases

Word frequency influences on the list length effect and associative memory in young and older adults

Many studies show that age deficits in memory are smaller for information supported by preexperimental experience. Many studies also find dissociations in memory tasks between words that occur with high and low frequencies in language, but the literature is mixed regarding the extent of word frequency effects in normal ageing. We examined whether age deficits in episodic memory could be influenced by manipulations of word frequency. In Experiment 1, young and older adults studied short and long lists of high- and low-frequency words for free recall. The list length effect (the drop in proportion recalled for longer lists) was larger in young compared to older adults and for high- compared to low-frequency words. In Experiment 2, young and older adults completed item and associative recognition memory tests with high- and low-frequency words. Age deficits were greater for associative memory than for item memory, demonstrating an age-related associative deficit. High-frequency words led to better associative memory performance whilst low-frequency words resulted in better item memory performance. In neither experiment was there any evidence for age deficits to be smaller for high- relative to low-frequency words, suggesting that word frequency effects on memory operate independently from effects due to cognitive ageing

Word frequency influences on the list length effect and associative memory in young and older adults

Many studies show that age deficits in memory are smaller for information supported by pre-experimental experience. Many studies also find dissociations in memory tasks between words that occur with high and low frequencies in language, but the literature is mixed regarding the extent of word frequency effects in normal ageing. We examined whether age deficits in episodic memory could be influenced by manipulations of word frequency. In Experiment 1, young and older adults studied short and long lists of high- and low-frequency words for free recall. The list length effect (the drop in proportion recalled for longer lists) was larger in young compared to older adults and for high- compared to low-frequency words. In Experiment 2, young and older adults completed item and associative recognition memory tests with high- and low-frequency words. Age deficits were greater for associative memory than for item memory, demonstrating an age-related associative deficit. High-frequency words led to better associative memory performance whilst low-frequency words resulted in better item memory performance. In neither experiment was there any evidence for age deficits to be smaller for high- relative to low-frequency words, suggesting that word frequency effects on memory operate independently from effects due to cognitive ageing

Associative Memory Performance Following Periods of Wakeful Rest and Technological Distraction

We often spend breaks in our day by engaging with technological devices. However, literature across several species indicates that resting quietly without engaging in other activities, termed wakeful rest, can be beneficial to memory consolidation, a period following encoding which serves to stabilize memories. Prior research demonstrates that wakeful rest benefits memory for single items. However, the effects of wakeful rest on associative memory, (i.e. memory for associations between stimuli), remain unclear. To elucidate the effects of wakeful rest on associative memory, a study was designed to examine differences in associative memory performance following periods of wakeful rest and game play during the consolidation phase. Using a within-subjects design, 41 young adult participants, aged 18-27 years, (a) encoded a list of word pairs, (b) engaged in one of the consolidation phase tasks, and (c) underwent an associative memory test. The consolidation phase included a digital breathing task which represented the wakeful rest condition and a find-the-difference digital game which represented the distraction condition. Both tasks were presented on a tablet. The entire process was then repeated by encoding a new set of stimuli and engaging in the second consolidation phase task, followed by a final memory test. It was hypothesized that associative memory would be better following wakeful rest than game play. Contrary to this hypothesis however, no differences were found between the two conditions. Further research should be done to clarify the relationship between wakeful rest and consolidation of associative memories

Item versus associative information: A comparison of forgetting rates with and without recollective experience

Past experiments examining the relationship between recognition memory and the recollective experience has consistently focused on single word stimuli. The present study was designed to assess the nature of this relationship with associative information in addition to item information. Two experiments are reported in which participants studied a list of random word pairs, and were subsequently given a recognition memory test for both item and associative information. Of those recognized events, participants were asked to indicate which words or word pairs they could and could not recollect from the study phase. Participants returned either 2 and 7 days later (Experiment 1) or 30 minutes and 1 day later (Experiment 2) to take a delayed memory test. The findings showed that across a 1-week delay, item and associative information did not differ with respect to forgetting rates. The two types of stimuli did differ with respect to recollective experience, with associative information eliciting a greater proportion of remember responses than did item information. These findings provide further evidence for the distinction between item and associative recognition memory, as well as extending previous research on recollective experience

A Dynamic Approach to Recognition Memory

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University,Psychological and Brain Sciences/Cognitive Science, 2015We argue that taking a dynamic approach to the understanding of memory will lead to advances that are not possible via other routes. To that end, we present a model of recognition memory that specifies how memory retrieval and recognition decisions jointly evolve over time and show that it is able to jointly predict accuracy, response time, and speed-accuracy trade-off functions. The model affords insights into the effects of study time, list length, and instructions. The model leads to a novel qualitative and quantitative test of the source of word frequency effects in recognition, showing that the relatively high distinctiveness of the features of low frequency words provide the best account. We also show how the dynamic model can be extended to account for paradigms like associative recognition and list discrimination, leading to another novel test of the presence of recall-like processes. Associative recognition, list discrimination, recognition of similar foils, and source exclusion are all better explained by the formation of a compound cue rather than recall, although source memory is found to be better modeled by a recall process

Both associative activation and thematic extraction count, but thematic false memories are more easily rejected

The main aim of this study was to analyse the roles played by associative activation and thematic extraction in the explanation of false memories using the Deese, Roediger, McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Associative lists with two different types of critical items (CIs) were used: one, the associative CI, corresponded to the word most strongly primed by the associates in the list and another, the thematic CI, was the word that best described the theme of the list. Following three different types of encoding instructions (standard, warning or strategic), false recognition for these two types of CIs was analysed in either self-paced or speeded response recognition tests. The results showed considerable levels of false memories for both types of CIs. Even without the quality of being “good themes”, associative CIs produced high levels of false recognition, which suggests that associative activation plays a prominent role in false memory formation. More interestingly, thematic CIs were more prone to be edited out, reinforcing the argument that thematic identifiability has a major role in the rejection of false memories