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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2025

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Published on: November 14, 2018

Seeing what you believe: recognition memory for evolutionary tree structure is affected by students' misconceptions.

Laura R Novick¹, Jingyi Liu¹

¹Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.

Memory (Hove, England)

|May 28, 2024

Summary

Students remember evolutionary tree structures better when presented with neutral information, not misconceptions. This finding improves understanding of how to effectively teach evolutionary concepts using visual aids.

Keywords:

Diagrams evolutionary trees misconceptions recognition memory

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Last Updated: Jun 25, 2025

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

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Published on: February 5, 2014

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Evolutionary Biology Education

Background:

Recognition memory for visual stimuli, including complex scientific visualizations, is generally accurate.
Evolutionary trees are crucial educational tools, but student misconceptions can interfere with accurate learning.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how misconceptions embedded within evolutionary trees affect students' recognition memory for tree structures.
To determine if the presence of a misconception-cuing taxon impairs memory compared to a neutral taxon.

Main Methods:

Two experiments were conducted using pairs of structurally identical evolutionary trees.
Trees differed in the inclusion of either a neutral taxon or a misconception-cuing taxon.
Recognition memory performance of college students was assessed.

Main Results:

Students demonstrated significantly better recognition memory for evolutionary tree structures when presented with a neutral taxon (M=0.73) compared to a misconception-cuing taxon (M=0.64).
Recognition memory accuracy was well above chance for both types of trees.
A second experiment confirmed that the presentation time was sufficient for encoding tree relationships.

Conclusions:

The presence of misconceptions within visual aids like evolutionary trees can negatively impact memory recall.
Careful design of educational materials is essential to avoid cuing misconceptions and enhance learning.
Findings have implications for improving science communication and education through accurate visual representations.