Usage of semantic representations in recognition memory

Abstract

Meanings of words facilitate false acceptance as well as correct rejection of lures in recognition memory tests, depending on the experimental context. This suggests that semantic representations are both directly and indirectly (i.e., mediated by perceptual representations) used in remembering. Studies using memory conjunction errors (MCEs) paradigms, in which the lures consist of component parts of studied words, have reported semantic facilitation of rejection of the lures. However, attending to components of the lures could potentially cause this. Therefore, we investigated whether semantic overlap of lures facilitates MCEs using Japanese Kanji words in which a whole-word image is more concerned in reading. Experiments demonstrated semantic facilitation of MCEs in a delayed recognition test (Experiment 1), and in immediate recognition tests in which participants were prevented from using phonological or orthographic representations (Experiment 2), and the salient effect on individuals with high semantic memory capacities (Experiment 3). Additionally, analysis of the receiver operating characteristic suggested that this effect is attributed to familiarity-based memory judgement and phantom recollection. These findings indicate that semantic representations can be directly used in remembering, even when perceptual representations of studied words are available.

Word imageability and orthographic neighbourhood effects on memory: a study in free recall and recognition

“…For high-imageability words, the effect of orthographic neighbourhood was no longer observed on recall and recognition memory. This pattern of results in both free recall and recognition suggests that semantic and orthographic factors are interdependent in different memory tasks (Hunt & Eliott, 1980;Nishiyama et al, 2017) and that their mutual intervention relies on shared memory processes. More precisely, when access to the semantic information in the word is high (as is the case for high-imageability words), the semantic rather than the orthographic features are preferentially used during the processes of recollection.…”

Holistic processing and unitization in face recognition memory.

“…They offer no insight into how participants reject recombined items as new . This is a critical component of associative recognition measured by the conjunction paradigm and one of growing interest in the memory literature (e.g., Jones, 2005; Jones & Jacoby, 2005; Liu, 2016; Lloyd, 2013; Nishiyama, Hirano, & Ukita, 2017). Here, we revisited whether holistic processing qualitatively affects associative recognition for faces using a different framework.…”