The effect of language proficiency and associative strength on false memory

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Psycholinguistics
• Memory Studies

Background:

• False memories, or recalling information that was never experienced, are influenced by language.
• Associative strength, the likelihood of words being recalled together, plays a role in memory production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how language proficiency and associative strength affect false memory production.
• To compare false memory recall in a dominant (L1) versus non-dominant (L2) language.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments used Deese-Roediger-McDermott word lists, varying in backward associative strength (BAS).
• Participants included native Spanish speakers with varying English proficiency levels.
• False recognition rates were measured in both Spanish (L1) and English (L2).

Main Results:

• False recognition was significantly higher in the dominant language (Spanish) compared to the non-dominant language (English).
• In Experiment 2, higher English proficiency correlated with increased false recognition in English, particularly for low-BAS lists.
• High-BAS lists consistently produced more false recognition than low-BAS lists across both languages.

Conclusions:

• Language dominance significantly impacts false memory formation, with stronger effects in L1.
• L2 proficiency can mitigate the difference in false memory recall between L1 and L2.
• Backward associative strength is a robust predictor of false memory, irrespective of language proficiency or knowledge.