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Context change and retrieval difficulty in the list-before-last paradigm.
Lili Sahakyan1, Hannah E Hendricks
1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 296 Eberhart Building, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA. l_sahaky@uncg.edu
Memory & Cognition
|March 7, 2012
Summary
Retrieving previously studied information (L1 retrieval) impairs current learning (L2 recall), regardless of retrieval difficulty. This memory retrieval process affects subsequent memory performance.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- The
- list-before-last
- paradigm investigates how prior list retrieval impacts subsequent memory.
- Understanding retrieval effects is crucial for memory models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if retrieval difficulty of a prior list (L1) influences recall of a current list (L2).
- To examine the effects of L1 retrieval on L2 accuracy, L3 intrusions, and L2 first-response functions.
Main Methods:
- Participants studied three lists (L1, L2, L3).
- Between L2 and L3 study, participants either retrieved L1 or solved math problems.
- Retrieval difficulty was manipulated via cue availability (Experiments 1-2) and temporal delay (Experiments 3-4).
Main Results:
- Retrieving L1 led to forgetting of L2, reduced L3 intrusions, and decreased L2 first-response functions compared to math problems.
- These effects were consistent across varying levels of L1 retrieval difficulty.
Conclusions:
- Prior list retrieval, irrespective of its difficulty, impairs subsequent memory performance.
- Results support the context-change interpretation of prior-list retrieval effects in memory.
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