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Memorability judgments for high- and low-frequency words

R Guttentag1, D Carroll

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro 27412, USA. guttenta@goodall.uncg.edu

Memory & Cognition
|October 31, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Subjects are unaware of low-frequency (LF) word memorability when judging lists beforehand. However, they rate LF words as more memorable when judging during a recognition test, impacting memory decisions.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • The word frequency effect in recognition memory is well-documented.
  • Previous research suggests explicit awareness of word frequency's impact on memory is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how judgments of word memorability differ based on word frequency (high-frequency vs. low-frequency).
  • To examine the influence of judgment timing (pre-test vs. during test) on these memorability ratings.
  • To explore the relationship between memorability judgments and the recognition memory word frequency effect.

Main Methods:

  • Five experiments were conducted using a recognition memory task.
  • Subjects made memorability judgments for high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) words.
  • Judgment timing varied: before a new list presentation (Experiment 1) versus during the recognition test (Experiments 2-5).

Main Results:

  • Experiment 1: Subjects did not explicitly recognize the higher memorability of LF words when judging a separate list.
  • Experiments 2-5: Subjects consistently rated LF words as more memorable when judgments were made during the recognition test.
  • A contrast emerged based on the timing of memorability judgments.

Conclusions:

  • Metamnemonic judgments can be influenced by the temporal context of their assessment.
  • Rapid retrieval of memorability information during recognition may affect decisions and contribute to the word frequency effect.
  • Explicit awareness of word frequency's role in memory is not always present, especially when judgments precede the test.

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