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Part-set cuing of false memories
Matthew B Reysen1, James S Nairne
1Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1364, USA.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|July 18, 2002
Summary
Part-set cuing effects, where presented items hinder recall, also apply to false memories. This study shows retrieval cues impact critical and studied words differently, affecting memory recall.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Memory
Background:
- Part-set cuing inhibition is a known phenomenon where presenting items from a studied list reduces overall recall performance.
- The current research investigates whether this effect extends to false memories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if part-set cuing effects influence the formation or retrieval of false memories.
- To examine the differential impact of retrieval cues on studied words versus critical, non-presented words.
Main Methods:
- Participants studied word lists derived from the Roediger and McDermott (1995) paradigm.
- Following a distractor task (math problems), participants engaged in cued recall, with cues being either random list items or specific list items (Experiment 2).
Main Results:
- Robust part-set cuing effects were observed for critical non-presented items, indicating these effects extend to false memories.
- Retrieval cues significantly reduced recall of critical words.
- The impact of retrieval cues on critical words and studied words was not uniform.
Conclusions:
- Part-set cuing inhibition influences false memory recall.
- Retrieval cues have a differential effect on the recall of true and false memories, suggesting distinct memory retrieval processes.