Examining the Causes of Memory Strength Variability: Recollection, Attention Failure, or Encoding Variability?
Examining the Causes of Memory Strength Variability: Recollection, Attention Failure, or Encoding Variability?
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DOI：
10.1037/a0033671
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发表时间：
2013-11-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Yonelinas, Andrew P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Koen, Joshua D.;Aly, Mariam;Yonelinas, Andrew P.
在再认记忆中的一个突出发现是，研究过的项目比新项目与记忆强度的变化性更大。在这里，我们测试了3个相互竞争的理论，为什么会发生编码变异，注意力缺失和回忆帐户。区分这些理论是至关重要的，因为每一种理论都对识别记忆的基础过程提供了根本不同的解释。编码变异性和注意失败帐户提出，旧项目的方差将不受检索操作，因为产生这种效果的过程归因于编码。回忆帐户预测，编码和检索操作，优先影响回忆将影响记忆的变异性。这些对比的预测进行了测试，通过检查反应速度（实验1），划分注意力在检索（实验2），上下文恢复（实验3），并增加测试延迟（实验4）对识别性能的影响。所有4个实验的结果证实了回忆帐户的预测，并与编码变异帐户不一致。支持注意力缺失解释的证据是混合的，4个实验中有2个证实了该解释，2个不证实该解释。这些结果表明，编码变异性和注意失败是不充分的帐户的记忆方差，并提供支持的回忆帐户。几个替代的理论帐户的结果也被认为是。
A prominent finding in recognition memory is that studied items are associated with more variability in memory strength than new items. Here, we test 3 competing theories for why this occurs the encoding variability, attention failure, and recollection accounts. Distinguishing among these theories is critical because each provides a fundamentally different account of the processes underlying recognition memory. The encoding variability and attention failure accounts propose that old item variance will be unaffected by retrieval manipulations because the processes producing this effect are ascribed to encoding. The recollection account predicts that both encoding and retrieval manipulations that preferentially affect recollection will affect memory variability. These contrasting predictions were tested by examining the effect of response speeding (Experiment 1), dividing attention at retrieval (Experiment 2), context reinstatement (Experiment 3), and increased test delay (Experiment 4) on recognition performance. The results of all 4 experiments confirm the predictions of the recollection account and are inconsistent with the encoding variability account. The evidence supporting the attention failure account is mixed, with 2 of the 4 experiments confirming the account and 2 disconfirming the account. These results indicate that encoding variability and attention failure are insufficient accounts of memory variance and provide support for the recollection account. Several alternative theoretical accounts of the results are also considered.