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Semantic relatedness can impair memory for item locations
Xinyi Lu1, Mona J H Zhu2, Evan F Risko2
1Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada. xinyi.lu@uwaterloo.ca.
Psychological Research
|November 1, 2023
Summary
Semantic relatedness improves word recall but impairs location memory. Grouping related words enhances memory retrieval but hinders distinguishing similar items in spatial memory tasks.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Memory
- Spatial Cognition
Background:
- Semantic relatedness often enhances memory recall.
- However, relatedness can also introduce memory costs, particularly in distinguishing items.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how semantic relatedness of words in a display affects memory for their locations.
- To explore the dual role of semantic structure in memory performance.
Main Methods:
- Participants memorized locations of words in grid displays.
- Displays contained either semantically related words (single category) or unrelated words (multiple categories).
- Location memory and word recall were assessed.
Main Results:
- Location memory performance was worse for displays of related words compared to unrelated words.
- Word recall performance was significantly improved for related word displays.
- Semantic structure had opposing effects on location and recall memory.
Conclusions:
- Semantically structured environments can both benefit and impair memory.
- Relatedness aids memory by facilitating candidate retrieval but hinders spatial memory by increasing representational similarity.
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