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Related Experiment Videos

Subjective memorability and the mirror effect.

J T Wixted1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|July 1, 1992
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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The mirror effect, where recognition test hits and false alarms are inversely related, does not apply to rare words. This suggests the effect isn't based on memorability estimates but rather word overlap.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Memory Research
  • Linguistic Processing

Background:

  • The mirror effect is a key finding in recognition memory, showing an inverse relationship between hit rates and false alarm rates.
  • Previous research has primarily focused on common words, leaving the generality of the mirror effect to less frequent words unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the generality of the mirror effect concerning rare words.
  • To determine if the mirror effect is influenced by accurate estimations of word memorability.
  • To explore alternative explanations for the mirror effect beyond memorability predictions.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted recognition memory tests using high-frequency, low-frequency, and rare words.
  • Assessed participants' predictions regarding word memorability and its correlation with word frequency.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzed hit rates and false alarm rates across different word frequency categories.

    • Main Results:

    • The mirror effect was observed for high- and low-frequency words but not for rare words.
    • Participants mistakenly predicted a direct correlation between word frequency and memorability.
    • Rejection of low-frequency lures was not consistently based on perceived memorability.

    Conclusions:

    • The mirror effect's applicability is limited, particularly with rare words.
    • The findings challenge the notion that the mirror effect stems from accurate memorability assessments.
    • Semantic or phonemic overlap with target words may better explain the rejection of lures across different word frequencies.