Retrieval failure contributes to gist-based false recognition

Abstract

People often falsely recognize items that are similar to previously encountered items. This robust memory error is referred to as gist-based false recognition. A widely held view is that this error occurs because the details fade rapidly from our memory. Contrary to this view, an initial experiment revealed that, following the same encoding conditions that produce high rates of gist-based false recognition, participants overwhelmingly chose the correct target rather than its related foil when given the option to do so. A second experiment showed that this result is due to increased access to stored details provided by reinstatement of the originally encoded photograph, rather than to increased attention to the details. Collectively, these results suggest that details needed for accurate recognition are, to a large extent, still stored in memory and that a critical factor determining whether false recognition will occur is whether these details can be accessed during retrieval.

Interactions between Visual Attention and Episodic Retrieval: Dissociable Contributions of Parietal Regions during Gist-Based False Recognition

“…The primary factor determining whether critical diagnostic perceptual details can be retrieved from memory and gist-based false recognition can be suppressed is whether the target item is made available as a cue on the recognition test. Attention to the perceptual details that are relevant to the discrimination, which does not result in retrieval of the target item, is not sufficient (see Guerin et al, 2012, for further discussion). These findings also complement Tulving’s observations of the effects of similarity in forced-choice recognition: in general, the similarity among test items on a recognition test is a less important determinant of performance than the similarity of the test items to information that is stored in memory (Tulving, 1981; see also Busey et al, 2000).…”

“…Specifically, we dissociated attention to specific perceptual detail and successful retrieval of specific perceptual detail. We accomplished this goal using a paradigm we recently developed that shows that gist-based false recognition, which occurs when one mistakenly recognizes an item that is similar to an item that was previously encountered (Reyna and Brainerd, 1995; Koutstaal and Schacter, 1997), occurs primarily because of a failure to retrieve detailed information that is still stored in memory (Guerin et al, 2012). Critically, our data established that attention to the specific perceptual details relevant to the task is not sufficient to overcome this failure.…”

Forgetting induced by recognition of visual images

“…Across all three experiments, we found that the memory impairment only affected representations of items the participant had previously viewed. This restrained, object-specific memory impairment in long-term memory suggests that recognizing visual information from long-term memory is tightly focused and that any costs or benefits of recognizing information do not spread to other visual representations in a category (see Guerin et al, 2012 for evidence of a similar object-specific memory).…”

The neural correlates of gist-based true and false recognition

“…For example, studying a dozen pictures of cats leads one to remember quite well that cats were studied, but can hinder one’s ability to recall perceptual details of particular cats and thus to discriminate novel pictures of cats from studied pictures of cats. Stimulus characteristics, instructions, and test conditions all can influence reliance on gist-based responding (Guerin, Robbins, Gilmore, & Schacter, in press; Koutstaal & Cavendish, 2006; Koutstaal et al, 2003; Koutstaal, Schacter, Galluccio, & Stofer, 1999; Tun, Wingfield, Rosen, & Blanchard, 1998). …”

“…The semantic categorization account maintains that pre-existing semantic associations can overshadow the use of item-specific features, and is predicated on the finding that studying sets of concrete, but not abstract, pictures increases levels of false recognition (Koutstaal, et al, 2003). Retrieval processes contribute substantially to gist-based errors (Guerin et al, in press), as disambiguating perceptual information is adequately encoded to at least some extent (Koutstaal, 2003), and can be made accessible under appropriate retrieval conditions (Guerin et al, in press). In addition, encountering many overlapping perceptual features can reinforce the representation of prototypical features (e.g., the shape features that are generally shared across exemplars from the category “chair”) which then, as a result of flexible recombination or binding of features by a constructive memory system, could seem familiar in a novel exemplar that shares those same prototypical features.…”