Chapter 1. False Memory

1.1 Introduction

Cognitive Tool Kit
true
true
true

False Memory

This experiment is a replication of one performed by Roediger and McDermott (1995) in which explicit memory for lists of items is tested. Work from these researchers has been used to create normed lists of stimuli referred to as DRM lists (Deese, Roediger, McDermott lists).

1.2 Experiment Setup

1.3 Instructions

Instructions

You will need to press the space bar to begin the experiment. A fixation mark will then appear in the center of the screen. Please focus on this mark. After a brief pause, six words will appear, one by one, in the center of the screen. There will be six blocks of six words each. After each block, you will be given a recall test in which you will be asked to produce from memory as many of the words you just saw as you can. At the end of all six blocks, there will be a recognition test for all of the lists in which you will be presented with both words previously seen and words that were not previously presented. You will be asked whether you saw the word during the earlier portion of the experiment.

Keyboard Responses

For recall tests:

Type in the words you remember using the keyboard.

For recognition tests:

Key What Response Means
Y Yes, I saw the word during the study.
N No, I didn’t see the word during the study.

1.4 Experiment

Begin Experiment

1.5 Results

Results

1.6 Debriefing

Debriefing

This study replicates the original Roediger and McDermott study examining memory for lists of semantically related items. Overall, semantically (e.g., thematically) related list items were remembered well. The more interesting part of the story is what happened to items not on the study lists. Roediger and colleagues found that participants often reported items not on the study list. Specifically, participants reported having seen the “critical lure,” a semantically related but not presented item.

Roediger and colleagues conducted research that contributed to a greater understanding of the plasticity of memory processes. Encoding, retrieval, and re-retrieval all have the potential to change the memory representation. When information is recalled, it is subject to distortions or modifications and is updated with the new, possibly distorted information (see also The Misinformation Effect, based on Loftus and Chance (1974), for another example.). Constructive memory is a subarea of memory researchconcerned with this process. Memories for information that was not presented are also referred to as false memories.

References:

Deese, J. (1959). On the prediction of occurrence of particular verbal intrusions in immediate recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 17-22.

Roediger, H. L., & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21, 803-814.

Roediger, H. L., & McDermott, K. B. (1999). False alarms and false memories. Psychological Review, 106(2), 406-410.

1.7 Quiz

Quiz

Question 1.1

QRKhID29L1txmYwbgboZ648lN46zo+tAU9DGc9WJMwOiOtKzxGNUvmkEehgjKQcVS/sMIblkBvC6j+hHvXXmBNWFyCvqmy7hVIeup+EdfuK2y5d4KIh3V7EVcsUQTCjTVMxlyhi9fh7CAwjsmHFc7tpoNGwy3pKo9ItUmDfgOT509W3kkHsM0aewYcMWhswo9WdWQknhUx6j1snHd+D1Vz7Xu03b0RiUkBuXoyNBO3J9hgwZ
1
Correct.
Incorrect.
Deese (1959) constructed the word lists employed by Roediger and McDermott (1995). This was a crucial element because of the importance of the semantic relatedness of the items.

Question 1.2

mr+7Q8zheeN12+Qo99xFWtW/0FB+S+9NXdVUdEdRTxX998NcUUPueJbqL35Z58p6GSheL433QW8m9vavR3edgCEL/AX4UL+it+fstdXyywTli2fikZ+BmNNRfYXrMliJqcft/r9MF+FEeXXakkanVA6CBOPGN1wBOBU6eN1cwg61m6pZ0QPcTBagQIrrNA8GJR+fpQ==
1
Correct.
Incorrect.
The variable manipulated in this study is the relatedness of the words used. Roediger and McDermott (1995) employed target words, semantically related words, semantically unrelated words, and a critical lure in the recognition test and then measured memory performance for all.

Question 1.3

KY480KKN3QeZC3hsfDGSgVwkTPRiQFngvYvMl4k6qpvlJ5R89dljsePjq2lOpbjxO9le1xrydQkcs2ch39TmVrtgrnIviqAGkJQu2jGlKqDet+JmGx3txDQZAOJuNG1EYyMJT+NzMibZuDSZxjKvanVkD+8IAQUkzdjkQkapuL3CnGV6Ib0hnvR4iILS9jtW86pF6sqQi4VFF07RANqKMA==
1
Correct.
Incorrect.
The variable the authors measured was memory for words presented during the study portion of the experiment. In particular, they were interested in false recall of words that were semantically related to the study words, but were not actually presented.

Question 1.4

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
Correct.
Incorrect.
Roediger and McDermott (1995) demonstrated that the presence of related words can influence our memory for words not presented. This tells us something about how we remember material and how our semantic memory is structured.