Event-related potentials indicate that fluency can be interpreted as familiarity

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Memory Research

Background:

• Familiarity and processing fluency are key concepts in recognition memory.
• Prior research suggests fluency may independently support recognition, separate from familiarity.
• The Discrepancy-Attribution Hypothesis proposes context-dependent interpretation of cognitive experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether processing fluency can support recognition memory independently of familiarity.
• To examine the neural correlates (ERPs) associated with recognition under different contextual conditions.
• To test the Discrepancy-Attribution Hypothesis in the context of brand recognition.

Main Methods:

• 29 participants encoded name-brand and off-brand products.
• Recognition memory was tested using single-category and mixed-category formats.
• Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during the recognition tests.

Main Results:

• ERP data for off-brand products differed based on test format.
• A familiarity effect (FN400) was observed for off-brand products in the mixed test.
• A fluency effect (parietal old/new effect) was observed for off-brand products in the single-category test, without an FN400.
• No FN400 effect was detected during the fluency-supported recognition test.

Conclusions:

• Processing fluency can support recognition memory, distinct from familiarity.
• Context (test format) influences whether fluency or familiarity is engaged during recognition.
• Top-down processing of visual features, interpreted relative to context, underlies these recognition experiences.