Testing the item-order account of design effects using the production effect

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Memory Research

Background:

• Memory recall differs between within-subject and between-subject designs.
• The item-order account suggests differential retention of order information influences memory phenomena.
• The production effect (better memory for spoken vs. read words) exhibits a similar design-contingent pattern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if differential order retention underlies the production effect.
• To test the predictions of the item-order account regarding the production effect.
• To examine how list design (pure vs. mixed) affects order information retention in the production effect.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted using within-subject and between-subject designs.
• Participants engaged in either silent reading or spoken word generation (production).
• Order reconstruction tests and free recall were used to measure memory for item order.

Main Results:

• Order information retention was superior in pure silent lists compared to pure aloud or mixed lists.
• Experiment 2 demonstrated better order preservation in free recall for pure silent lists than for other list types.
• The findings align with the item-order account, extending its applicability to the production effect.

Conclusions:

• Differential retention of order information plays a role in explaining the production effect.
• The production effect, like other memory phenomena, is influenced by list design and order processing.
• This research supports the item-order account as a framework for understanding design-contingent memory effects.