Source-constrained recall reduces errors but does not reduce feature importation

Maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs of repeated memory tests for older adults.

“…The flip side of this coin is that, whereas free recall tests may encourage imagination and embellishment processes that lead to later source confusions, repeated source recall tests can in essence protect against future source errors by strengthening memory for features that are diagnostic of the item's source and binding together the features that correctly indicate the source of the remembered item (see Lane et al, 2006). It is interesting that an interaction between age and prior recall test type was obtained on the subsequent source recognition test for conceptually related items but not for physically similar items.…”

“…At the same time, recalling items along with their source can reduce later source misattributions by strengthening, making more accessible, and successfully binding together the features that correctly indicate the source of the remembered item (e.g., by thinking about whether a recalled item was seen or imagined, the perceptual-like features that indicate it was really seen or the associated thoughts that indicate it was really imagined are activated and strengthened). Recent research in which young adults repeatedly recalled items from one specific source (e.g., recalled only seen items) has in fact shown that remembering an item while explicitly noting its source does not merely strengthen the association between the item and its source but actually improves memory for features that are diagnostic of the item's source (Lane, Henkel, Roussel, & Groft, 2006).…”