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Feature and conjunction effects in recognition memory: toward specifying familiarity for compound words
Todd C Jones1, Alan S Brown, Paul Atchley
1School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. todd.jones@vuw.ac.nz
Memory & Cognition
|October 4, 2007
Summary
Familiarity in memory errors stems from lexical morphemes, not conceptual information. This finding suggests memory models should incorporate lexical morpheme familiarity for compound words.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Memory Research
Background:
- Feature and conjunction errors are common in memory recall.
- Dual-process models of memory attempt to explain these errors.
- The sources of familiarity contributing to these errors require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the sources of familiarity that lead to feature and conjunction errors.
- To examine the roles of letter, syllable, lexical morpheme, and conceptual information.
- To relate findings to existing dual-process models of memory.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using word and nonword stimuli.
- Evaluated contributions of different linguistic information types (letter, syllable, lexical morpheme, conceptual).
- Analyzed data in relation to feature and conjunction error production.
Main Results:
- Lexical morpheme information was a stronger predictor of errors than syllable information.
- Conceptual information did not significantly impact feature or conjunction errors.
- Findings were consistent across word and nonword stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Results support a familiarity-based interpretation of feature and conjunction errors.
- Lexical morpheme information provides a key basis for familiarity in compound words.
- Memory models may need to incorporate lexical morpheme familiarity for enhanced comprehensiveness.
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