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Composites, compromises, and CHARM: what is the evidence for blend memory representations?
1Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|March 1, 1991
Summary
This study examines "blend" memory representations, finding little evidence for composite recollections and rare support for compromise recollections. These findings challenge the distributed memory model of misinformation effects.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
- Misinformation Effects
Background:
- Metcalfe's distributed memory model posits superimposed representations from multiple sources.
- Misinformation effects are often explained by these 'blend' representations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review evidence for 'blend' memory representations.
- To evaluate the validity of composite and compromise recollections as support for blend representations.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing empirical evidence on memory recollections.
- Analysis of composite recollections (items from original and postevent sources).
- Analysis of compromise recollections (features unassignable to a single source).
Main Results:
- Considerable evidence supports composite recollections, but offers little support for blend representations.
- Compromise recollections are rare and can be explained without invoking blend representations.
Conclusions:
- The evidence for composite and compromise recollections does not strongly support Metcalfe's blend representation hypothesis.
- Further research is needed to identify conditions that might support blend representations in memory.