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The generation effect: dissociating enhanced item memory and disrupted order memory.

Neil W Mulligan1

  • 1Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA. nmulligan@unc.edu

Memory & Cognition
|November 27, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Generating information during learning aids memory for items but harms memory for order. This study found generation negatively impacts order memory regardless of whether it improves item memory.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Memory Research

Background:

  • Generating information during encoding typically enhances memory for specific items (item memory).
  • However, the effect of generation on memory for the order of items (order memory) is less understood and may be negative.
  • Familiar and unfamiliar stimuli may interact differently with the generation effect.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dissociable effects of stimulus generation on item memory versus order memory.
  • To examine how stimulus familiarity influences the relationship between generation, item memory, and order memory.
  • To determine if the negative impact of generation on order memory is contingent on a generation advantage for item memory.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted using word and non-word stimuli, as well as familiar and unfamiliar word compounds.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Participants either generated the stimuli or read them.
  • Item memory was assessed using recognition tasks, and order memory was assessed using order-reconstruction tests.

    • Main Results:

    • For familiar stimuli, generation improved item memory (recognition) but impaired order memory.
    • For unfamiliar stimuli, generation did not improve item memory but still impaired order memory.
    • The disruption of order memory by generation occurred irrespective of whether item memory was enhanced.

    Conclusions:

    • The positive effect of generation on item memory is distinct from its negative effect on order memory.
    • Generation consistently impairs order memory, even when it does not benefit item memory.
    • These findings suggest a dissociation between the mechanisms supporting item memory and order memory during encoding, particularly concerning the act of generation.