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On the relationship between recognition judgments and truth judgments: Memory states moderate the recognition-based
Lena Nadarevic1, Edgar Erdfelder1
1Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|February 18, 2025
Summary
Familiar statements feel truer, especially when memory is certain. This study reveals that memory certainty amplifies the truth effect, impacting how we judge information based on recognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Memory Studies
Background:
- The truth effect describes the tendency to perceive familiar statements as more truthful.
- Recognition judgments (labeling information as 'old' or 'new') are linked to truth judgments.
- The precise role of underlying memory states in this recognition-based truth effect remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how latent memory states (certainty vs. uncertainty) influence the truth effect.
- To differentiate the impact of recognition judgments from factual repetition on truth perception.
- To explore the relationship between episodic memory and the truth effect.
Main Methods:
- Employed a model-based approach to analyze truth judgments in relation to recognition judgments and memory states.
- Conducted three experiments examining truth and recognition judgments.
- Utilized both modeled and subjective memory states for comparison.
Main Results:
- A significant recognition-based truth effect was observed across all experiments.
- This truth effect was notably larger under conditions of memory certainty compared to uncertainty.
- Recognition judgments had a stronger influence on judged truth than factual repetition.
Conclusions:
- Episodic memory processes play a crucial role in the truth effect.
- Memory certainty enhances the impact of recognition on perceived truth.
- The study provides a novel methodological approach for considering memory states in truth effect research.
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