The role of control processes in temporal and semantic contiguity

Abstract

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) argued that performance on any memory task reflects the combined influence of both the fixed structure of the memory system and control processes tailored to the specific task. We investigated the role of control processes in governing the temporal contiguity and semantic contiguity effects in free recall-tendencies to organize recall based on proximity in the study list and pre-existing semantic associations. Subjects studied lists that contained four "clusters", each composed of four semantically associated words but presented in random order such that associates were not in adjacent serial positions. Subjects were given either standard free-recall instructions, instructions to focus on order-based associations (i.e., the original order of presentation), or meaning-based associations (i.e., preexisting semantic relationships). Replicating previous work, lists with strong semantic relationships resulted in a reduced overall temporal contiguity effect when recalled under standard free-recall instructions. However, under meaning-based recall instructions, the temporal contiguity effect was nearly eliminated. Detailed analyses of within-cluster transitions and an order reconstruction task revealed that temporal information was encoded, but control processes prevented it from dominating memory search. These results point to a need for more empirical work exploring how control processes change recall dynamics and for more theoretical work modeling the computational basis of these processes.

A test of retrieved context theory: Dynamics of recall after incidental encoding.

“…Hong et al (2019) found that combining multiple factors that tend to reduce the usefulness of temporal information, such as testing participants on a long list with semantic associations, can eliminate the TCE. Similarly, when Healey and Uitvlugt (2019) modified free recall instructions to ask participants to focus on similarities in meaning between items rather than the order of items during study, they found the TCE was reduced to near zero. In addition, the correlation between the strength of the TCE and overall recall was much smaller in standard lists composed of relatively unrelated words when participants were instructed to focus on semantic similarities.…”

“…Retrieved context theory forms the basis of a set of models of free recall that provide quantitatively precise accounts of dynamics of memory search (see Healey & Kahana, 2014, 2016; Howard et al, 2015; Howard & Kahana, 2002; Lohnas et al, 2015; Polyn et al, 2009; Sederberg et al, 2008). The theory has been applied to explain many phenomena, including the testing effect (Karpicke et al, 2014), directed forgetting (Sahakyan et al, 2013), retrieval-induced forgetting (Kliegl & Bäuml, 2016), age-related change (Healey & Kahana, 2020; Wahlheim & Huff, 2015), individual differences (Healey et al, 2014; Healey & Uitvlugt, 2019), amnesia (Palombo et al, 2019; Sederberg et al, 2008), and event segmentation (Ezzyat & Davachi, 2014; Sahakyan & Smith, 2014).…”

What I like is what I remember: Memory modulation and preferential choice.

“…Thus, our results control for encoding differences and provide strong support for the modulation of memory based on the retrieval task one is engaged in. In related work, Healey and Uitvlugt (2019) that also examined how poststudy instructional Representation of Our Computational Memory Model for an Example List Note. While inputs to each item node are provided by the desirability ratings, serial position, temporal and semantic associations create the connections between the item nodes.…”

Recall Initiation Instructions Influence How Space and Time Interact in Memory

“…More importantly, recent findings have suggested that the magnitude of this relation can be modulated by instruction and task context. For example, Healey & Uitvlugt (2019) found that the correlation between temporal factor scores and recall was reduced when word lists contained strong semantic associations, and this relationship was even reversed when participants were instructed to use the semantic associations to guide memory search. Supporting this interpretation, Mundorf et al (2021) found a significant correlation between temporal factor scores and recall levels when participants deliberately studied words for a test, but no correlation was found when encoding was incidental.…”

“…There is evidence that temporal contiguity interacts with the semantic associative dimension (Polyn, Erlikhman, & Kahana, 2011, Howard & Kahana, 2002. For example, encouraging participants to focus on temporal order considerably reduces the amount of semantic clustering in participants' recall, even for lists with strong semantic associations (Healey & Uitvlugt, 2019). Little is known, however, about whether time and space interact.…”