Does Distinctive Visual Information Enhance monitoring of false

Does Distinctive Visual Information Enhance monitoring of false memories? 1, Ashley Osborne 2, Meghan Stone 1, John Carney 1 & Karen Lee 1 Jason Arndt 1 Middlebury College & 2 Duke University Abstract Two experiments evaluated the role of encoding-based and retrievalbased factors in the production of false recognition in the DRM paradigm. The first experiment varied the association of unusuallooking fonts with DRM themes (correlated or not correlated) and the duration of time allotted for subjects to utilize retrieval monitoring. The second experiment manipulated whether the font in which an unstudied lure item was presented at test was used to present strong or weak associates of the lure, as measured by Backward Associative Strength (BAS). The combined results of these experiments suggest that subjects utilize visual format as a retrieval cue in an effort to distinguish between studied and unstudied items, but that this monitoring strategy can be harmful when lure activation during encoding leads to the development of associations between fonts used to present study items and lure item representations. ¸ Materials: 96 sets of ten items (referred to as themes henceforth) from Nelson, Mc. Evoy, and Schreiber (1998) [ All items in a given theme produced a single item (the lure item) in free association with some nonzero probability Theme items: rose, stem, blossom, lily, vase, dandelion, orchid, tulip, petals, daisy Lure item: flower Exp. 1: Unique Study ROSE STEM BLOSSOM LILY VASE DANDELION ORCHID TULIP Exp. 1: Correlated Study ROSE STEM BLOSSOM LILY VASE DANDELION ORCHID TULIP ¸ Design: Font condition (correlated vs. unique) and Retrieval Speed (speeded vs. unspeeded) both varied within subjects [ Unusualness of visual information at study was manipulated by presenting study items in unusual-looking fonts (see Figure 3; Arndt & Reder, 2003; Reder, Donavos, & Erickson, 2002). Prior Research ¸ Previous research has indicated that the study of visual information reduces semantic false recognition (Arndt & Reder, 2003; Schacter, Israel, & Racine, 1999; Smith & Hunt, 1998). Figure 2: Experiment 1 Results Correct Recognition ¸ When unusual-looking fonts (e. g. , Gadzoox) are uniquely associated with study words, false recognition is lower than when unusuallooking fonts are associated with multiple study words (Arndt & Reder, 2003). Conclusions Figure 3: Experiment 1 & 2 Conditions Experiment 1 Exp. 2 Study List Exp. 2 Test Conditions Study Trout Tuna Salmon Bait Line Lobster Bait Mussel Study Items ¸ Results from these studies and those reported by Arndt and Carney (2004; see also Arndt, in press) are consistent with the view that lure representations develop associations with visual features of studied items. Strong: Trout Weak: Line [ More errors when lures shown in a font used to present their studied associates (Arndt & Carney, 2004). Lure Items [ More errors when lures shown in a font used to present their strong associates (Experiment 2). Strong: FISH Weak: FISH Experiment 2 ¸ Materials: 48 themes from Nelson, et al. (1998). For each theme, the four strongest associates (mean associative strength =. 585) and four weaker associates (associative strength between. 02 and. 10; M =. 063) were selected to serve as study items. Strong associates: trout, tuna, salmon, bait Weak associates: line, lobster, lake, mussel ¸ The association between the visual format of studied items and unstudied lure items may lead to impaired monitoring processes. [ Higher errors in the correlated condition than the unique condition emerged late in retrieval (Experiment 1). ¸ This hypothesis is consistent with many of the features of false recognition in the DRM paradigm. [ Recollection phenomenology associated with lure items (Roediger, & Mc. Dermott, 1995). Lure item: fish ¸ Strong associates were presented in one font, while weak associates were presented in a second font. ¸ False recognition has been shown to be higher when a font presented during encoding is reinstated at retrieval (Arndt & Carney, 2004; see Figure 1). [ Warnings do not eliminate lure errors (Multhaup & Conner, 2002). [ Source monitoring produces higher error rates than oldnew recognition (Hicks & Marsh, 2001). ¸ At test, lure items were presented in the font used to present their strong associates or weak associates (see Figure 3). References Encoding-Based Models Figure 4: Experiment 2 Results ¸ Presentation of study items in unusual-looking fonts enhances encoding of item-specific information and reduces encoding of relational information. [ Activation of lure representations is lower when unusual-looking fonts are studied (Roediger, et al. , 2001). Arndt, J. , & Carney, J. (2004). Distinctive information and false recognition: The role of encoding and retrieval factors. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Minneapolis, MN. Arndt, J. , & Reder, L. M. (2003). The effect of distinctive visual information on false recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 48, 1 -15. Hicks, J. L. , & Marsh, R. (2001). False recognition occurs more frequently during source identification than during old-new recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 27, 375 -383. Correct Recognition Retrieval-Based Models ¸ Retrieval-based models (e. g. , Johnson, Hashtroudi, & Lindsay, 1993) suggest that monitoring is greater in the unique condition than in the correlated condition. False Recognition Johnson, M. K. , Hashtroudi, S. , & Lindsay, D. S. (1993). Source monitoring. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 3 -28. Figure 1: Arndt & Carney (2004) Results Multhaup, K. S. , & Conner, C. A. (2002). The effects of considering non-list sources on the Deese-Roediger-Mc. Dermott memory illusion. Journal of Memory and Language, 47, 214 -228. Correct Recognition Nelson, D. L. , Mc. Evoy, C. L. , & Schreiber, T. A. (1998). The University of South Florida word association, rhyme, and word fragment norms. http: //w 3. usf. edu/Free. Association/ Roediger, H. L. , III. , & Mc. Dermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21, 803 -814. Lure False Alarms Roediger, H. L. , III, Watson, J. M. , Mc. Dermott, K. B. , & Gallo, D. A. (2001). Factors that determine false recall: A multiple regression analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8, 385 -407. Schacter, D. L. , Israel, L. , & Racine, C. (1999). Suppressing false recognition in younger and older adults: The distinctiveness heuristic. Journal of Memory and Language, 40, 1 -24. False Recognition Smith, R. , & Hunt, R. R. (1998). Presentation modality affects false recognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 5, 710 -715. Experiment 1 Conclusions ¸ Encoding-based explanation insufficient. ¸ Editing-based monitoring processes insufficient. ¸ Results suggest possibility that employment of monitoring processes can inflate lure errors. ¸ One mechanism by which this could occur is if lure representations develop associations with encoded features of studied items. [ Activation-monitoring theory (Roediger, et al. , 2001) suggests this tendency varies with activation of lure item at encoding. Experiment 2 Conclusions ¸ Evidence that lure representations develop associations with presentation features of study items. [ Activation-monitoring theory (Roediger, et al. , 2001) suggests this tendency varies with activation of lure item at encoding. Please address correspondence to Jason Arndt (jarndt@middlebury. edu)