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How does repetition affect memory? Evidence from judgments of recency.
1University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA. hintzman@uoregon.edu
Memory & Cognition
|December 8, 2009
Summary
Repetition
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- Judgment of Recency (JOR) is a key aspect of memory.
- Understanding how item repetition influences JOR is crucial for memory models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the complex effects of item repetition on judgment of recency.
- To differentiate between independent-trace and cumulative-strength accounts of JOR.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments were conducted to examine repetition's impact on JOR.
- Varying presentation spacing and analyzing subjects' recency judgments for repeated items.
Main Results:
- Repetition can enhance or diminish an item's perceived recency based on presentation spacing.
- Subjects independently judged the recency of first and second presentations of repeated items.
Conclusions:
- Data support an independent-trace theory over a cumulative-strength account for JOR.
- A recursive reminding hypothesis may better explain all observed repetition effects on JOR.
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