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Forgetting in recognition memory with and without recollective experience.
1Department of Social Sciences, City University, London, England.
Memory & Cognition
|November 1, 1991
Summary
Memory recall differs over time. "Remember" responses decrease sharply within a week, while "know" responses remain stable, but both decline gradually over six months.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Memory Research
Background:
- Recognition memory can be based on recollection or familiarity.
- Understanding the temporal dynamics of these two memory components is crucial for memory research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential forgetting rates of
- remember
- (recollective experience) and
- know
- (familiarity-based) recognition responses.
- To examine how retention interval affects these two types of memory responses over extended periods.
Main Methods:
- Two recognition memory experiments were conducted.
- Participants indicated whether recognition was based on recollection (
- remember
- ) or familiarity (
- know
- ).
- Retention intervals varied from 10 minutes to 6 months.
Main Results:
- Remember
- responses significantly decreased between 10 minutes and 1 week, while
- know
- responses remained stable.
- From 1 week to 6 months, both
- remember
- and
- know
- responses showed a similar, gradual decline.
- Accurate discrimination between targets and lures was maintained even after 6 months.
Conclusions:
- Remember
- and
- know
- memory components exhibit distinct temporal decay patterns.
- Both recollection and familiarity contribute to long-term memory retention, albeit at different rates initially.
- Findings support multiple memory systems theories and processing accounts of memory retention.