Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2025
06:35
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
34.1K
Short-Term Phantom Recollection in 8-10-Year-Olds and Young Adults
Marlène Abadie1, Manon Rousselle1
1Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, 13331 Marseille, France.
Journal of Intelligence
|April 27, 2023
Summary
Phantom recollection, an illusory memory, is common in short-term working memory (WM) tasks for both children and adults. Increased use of phantom recollection may explain developmental changes in false memories.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Phantom recollection, an illusory conscious experience of unstudied material, is a known factor in long-term episodic memory and false memory formation.
- Its presence in short-term working memory (WM) tasks has not been previously investigated, particularly across different age groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the occurrence of phantom recollection in a short-term working memory task.
- To compare the rates of phantom recollection in children (8-10 years old) and young adults.
- To explore the role of phantom recollection in the development of false memories within WM.
Main Methods:
- Participants studied lists of semantically related words and performed a recognition task with related and unrelated unpresented distractors.
- A concurrent task was sometimes used during the retention interval to interfere with working memory maintenance.
- The conjoint recognition model from fuzzy-trace theory was applied to analyze memory representations and identify phantom recollection.
Main Results:
- Both children and young adults exhibited high rates of false recognition for semantically related distractors, indicating significant phantom recollection.
- False recognition rates were higher in young adults (47%) than in children (42%).
- Phantom recollection accounted for a larger proportion of false memories in young adults (50%) compared to children (16%).
Conclusions:
- Phantom recollection is present in short-term working memory tasks for both children and adults.
- The developmental increase in short-term false memory appears to be associated with a greater reliance on phantom recollection in young adults compared to children.
- These findings highlight the role of memory representations in age-related differences in false memory formation within working memory.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Autobiographical Memory
5.7K
Autobiographical memory is a unique type of episodic memory that involves recollecting personal life experiences. It allows individuals to remember significant events from their past, creating a narrative of their lives. One interesting phenomenon related to autobiographical memory is the reminiscence bump. This effect refers to the tendency of adults to recall more events from their second and third decades of life — typically between ages 10 to 30 — than from other periods. This...
5.7K
01:18False Memories
125
False memories represent a cognitive distortion in which individuals recall events that did not happen, or remember them in an altered form. This phenomenon highlights the brain's constructive nature in processing and recalling memories, emphasizing that memory is not a perfect representation of past events but rather a dynamic reconstruction influenced by various factors.
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information...
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information...
125
01:22Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory
258
Improving short-term memory can be achieved through techniques like chunking and rehearsal. Chunking involves organizing information into larger, more manageable units. This technique is particularly useful for information that exceeds the typical memory span of between five and nine items. For instance, logging into an online account with a password like "ta89vq0179gz" involves grouping letters and numbers into three chunks—ta89, vq01, and 79gz. It makes large amounts of...
258
01:10Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
180
The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon is a cognitive experience characterized by a temporary inability to retrieve specific information from memory despite having a strong feeling of knowing the information. Although individuals cannot access the target word or detail, they frequently recall related elements, such as its initial letter, syllable count, or context. This partial retrieval often causes frustration, as one might recognize a familiar face or know that a name starts with a specific...
180
01:14Sensory Memory
266
Sensory memory captures information from the environment in its original form for a very brief duration, just long enough to be exposed to visual, auditory, and other senses. This type of memory is detailed and rich but quickly lost unless certain strategies are employed to transfer it into short-term or long-term memory. Sensory information is continuously bombarding the human brain, yet only a small fraction is absorbed, as most of it does not significantly impact daily life. For instance,...
266
01:20Traumatic Memory
143
Emotionally traumatic events often lead to memories that are exceptionally vivid and enduring, sometimes persisting with remarkable clarity throughout an individual's life. A classic example of this phenomenon is a person who survives a car accident. Even years later, they may recall every detail of the event with startling accuracy — the screeching of the tires, the jarring impact, and the acrid smell of burning rubber. Such vividness contrasts sharply with how an individual...
143