Retrieval outcomes and memory conjunction errors: reconstructive costs of partial retrieval

The present study examined how retrieval outcomes influence the formation of memory conjunction errors, in which features from parent compound words (e.g., airstream and passport) are recombined, leading to false recognition of unpresented compound words containing those features (e.g., airport). Across two experiments, memory conjunction errors varied as a function of retrieval outcome (successful, partially successful, unsuccessful). Critically, conditionalised analyses matched on item difficulty revealed a selective pattern in which memory conjunction errors were elevated following partial retrieval of parent components relative to difficulty-matched comparison items. These findings suggest that memory distortions are not uniformly associated with retrieval, but instead emerge under conditions of incomplete retrieval, consistent with a reconstructive account in which partially activated features are more likely to be recombined.