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Associative false recognition occurs without strategic criterion shifts.
D A Gallo1, H L Roediger, K B McDermott
1Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA. dgallo@artsci.wustl.edu
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|November 10, 2001
Summary
Warnings before studying word lists significantly reduce false memories in the Deese/Roediger and McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm. Warnings after study are less effective, especially when participants must monitor studied items.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Studies
Background:
- The Deese/Roediger and McDermott (DRM) paradigm is a common method for studying false memories.
- Participants often falsely recall non-presented words semantically associated with studied words.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effectiveness of warnings on false recognition in the DRM paradigm.
- To differentiate the impact of warnings on encoding versus retrieval processes.
Main Methods:
- Participants studied word lists associated with non-presented critical words.
- Four instructional conditions were used: no warning, warning before study, and two types of warnings after study.
- False recognition of critical words was measured.
Main Results:
- A warning before study significantly reduced false recognition.
- A warning after study reduced false recognition when critical items were never studied.
- Warnings after study had minimal effect when critical items were sometimes studied, suggesting false memories are not due to criterion shifts.
Conclusions:
- Warnings are effective in mitigating false memories, particularly when administered before the study phase.
- The timing of warnings influences their effectiveness, highlighting the roles of encoding and retrieval.
- False memories in the DRM paradigm are not solely attributable to strategic guessing or liberal response criteria.