[The influence of the type of conversation on its memory]

The present study investigated the effect of the type of conversation on the recognition memory of statements appeared in the conversation. The experiment used two types of conversation; goal-oriented conversation and desultory conversation. The examined items were as follows: (1) the recognition memory of the surface form of statements which appeared in both types of conversation, (2) the effect of whether the sex of speaker was the same as the subject's or not, (3) the effect of whether the subject joined the conversation or just listened to conversation. Subjects (40 male and female undergraduates) were randomly assigned either to the listening condition in which they read the scenario of a conversation silently while listening to the tape recorded version of the same conversation, or to the utterance condition in which they played the part given in the scenario as if they were conversing with a partner whose utterance was given by the tape. The following results were obtained. Recognition memory of both surface form and content of statements was high in the goal-oriented, listening, same-sex condition, in the goal-oriented, utterance, other-sex condition, and in the desultory, listening, other-sex condition; it was low in desultory, utterance, other-sex condition. These results suggested that the recognition memory of conversation was dependent on various factors such as the type of conversation, the identity of the speaker (self or non-self), and the part played in the conversation (joining or listening).