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Predicting and postdicting the effects of word frequency on memory
1Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA. asbenjam@s.psych.uiuc.edu
Memory & Cognition
|May 17, 2003
Summary
Judgments about word memorability change based on when they are made. People predict common words are more memorable, but recall shows uncommon words are better recognized.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- Prior research indicates that judgments of word memorability can differ based on the timing of the assessment.
- Understanding the factors influencing these judgments is crucial for memory research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate and extend findings on how judgments of word memorability differ between study and recognition phases.
- To investigate the cues subjects use for memorability judgments during different memory tasks.
Main Methods:
- Participants made judgments about word memorability during a study phase and during a recognition test.
- Subsequent predictions about recognition performance were analyzed based on prior judgment timing.
Main Results:
- During study, participants predicted common words would be more memorable.
- During recognition tests, participants postdicted that uncommon words were better recognized.
- Making postdictions during recognition led to accurate predictions of superior recognition for uncommon words on a later list.
Conclusions:
- Memory judgments shift based on the assessment context, utilizing different cues during study versus recognition.
- Recognition-based judgments (postdictions) improve the accuracy of predicting future recognition performance.
- This effect does not extend to predicting recall performance, suggesting distinct processes for recognition and recall prediction.