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Related Experiment Videos

False recognition without intentional learning.

Michael D Dodd1, Colin M MacLeod

  • 1University of Toronto, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. michaeld@psych.utoronto.ca

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|May 1, 2004
PubMed
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False memory, or recalling unpresented words, occurs even when learning is unintentional. This study shows that processing related words incidentally can trigger false memories, supporting the activation/monitoring theory.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Memory Studies

Background:

  • False memory is a common phenomenon where individuals recall or recognize information not originally presented.
  • The critical lure effect, where a related but unpresented word is falsely recalled, is well-documented in semantic memory tasks.
  • It remains unclear whether intentional learning is necessary for the critical lure effect to manifest.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether intentional word reading and learning are prerequisites for the critical lure phenomenon in false memory.
  • To determine if incidental processing of semantically related words can also lead to false memories.
  • To test the predictions of the activation/monitoring account of false memory.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted using semantically related word lists known to elicit false memories.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Experiment 1 involved incidental processing of words via a color identification task.
  • Experiment 2 involved intentional word reading and learning of the same word lists, followed by surprise recognition tests including critical lures.

    • Main Results:

    • False alarms to critical lures were observed in both experiments.
    • The rate of false alarms to critical lures was comparable across the incidental (Experiment 1) and intentional (Experiment 2) processing conditions.
    • These findings indicate that intentional learning is not essential for the critical lure effect.

    Conclusions:

    • The critical lure phenomenon in false memory is not dependent on intentional word learning.
    • Incidental processing of semantically related words is sufficient to induce false memories.
    • Results support the activation/monitoring account, suggesting that semantic associations can activate memory representations even without deliberate study.