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Changes in context across instances of memory retrieval have been shown to impair memory for acts of prior remembering. The present study examined how self-referential encoding influences memory for prior remembering that occurred with or without context change. At encoding, participants processed each target in cue-target word pairs in relation to themselves or another person. During an initial cued-recall test, targets were tested with either the studied cues or semantically related, but previously unseen cues. During a second cued-recall test, all targets were tested with the studied cues, and participants judged whether they remembered retrieving each target during the first test. Regardless of self/other-reference, semantic context change across the two tests impaired memory for prior remembering. Furthermore, the magnitude of this impairment was larger for strongly self-associated vs. other-associated targets. Our findings suggest that self-referential encoding does not benefit memory for prior remembering in the face of contextual change.

Enhanced emotional memory often comes at the cost of memory for surrounding background information. Narrowed-encoding theories suggest that this is due to narrowed attention for emotional information at encoding, leading to impaired encoding of background information. Recent work has suggested that an encoding-based theory may be insufficient. Here, we examined whether cued recall-instead of previously used recognition memory tasks-would reveal evidence that non-emotional information associated with emotional information was effectively encoded. Participants encoded positive, negative, or neutral objects on neutral backgrounds. At retrieval, they were given either the item or the background as a memory cue and were asked to recall the associated scene element. Counter to narrowed-encoding theories, emotional items were more likely than neutral items to trigger recall of the associated background. This finding suggests that there is a memory trace of this contextual information and that emotional cues may facilitate retrieval of this information.

Information about others' success in remembering is frequently available. For example, students taking an exam may assess its difficulty by monitoring when others turn in their exams. In two experiments, we investigated how rememberers use this information to guide recall. Participants studied paired associates, some semantically related (and thus easier to retrieve) and some unrelated (and thus harder). During a subsequent cued recall test, participants viewed fictive information about an opponent's accuracy on each item. In Experiment 1, participants responded to each cue once before seeing the opponent's performance and once afterwards. Participants reconsidered their responses least often when the opponent's accuracy matched the item difficulty (easy items the opponent recalled, hard items the opponent forgot) and most often when the opponent's accuracy and the item difficulty mismatched. When participants responded only after seeing the opponent's performance (Experiment 2), the same mismatch conditions that led to reconsideration even produced superior recall. These results suggest that rememberers monitor whether others' knowledge states accord or conflict with their own experience, and that this information shifts how they interrogate their memory and what they recall.

Healthy participants remember emotional stimuli better than neutral stimuli. In normal, older adults this emotional enhancement of memory (EEM) was mostly seen in respect of positive stimuli (positivity bias) after rich and deep encoding. The results relating to this effect in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients are fairly inconsistent. The goal of the present study was to ascertain whether EEM in AD patients depends on the depth and the richness of encoding. Twenty-one patients with mild-to-moderate AD and 23 age-and-education-matched controls completed two study phases, each followed by a retrieval phase. The first study phase consisted of a natural/man-made categorization task followed by a recognition task, whereas the second, which involved the stimuli used in the recognition task, allowed for richer and deeper encoding as a result of repetition and naming of the stimuli and presentation of the same semantic cues at encoding and retrieval. The second study phase was followed by free and cued recall tasks and a recognition task. After the first study phase we observed EEM in respect of negative and positive stimuli in controls, but not in AD patients. After the second study phase, the positivity bias was observed in the free recall task in controls but not in AD patients. In the cued recall and recognition tasks, however, both groups showed the positivity bias. Based on our results, AD patients present a positivity memory bias when encoding is sufficiently rich and deep, and when support is provided at the time of retrieval (cued recall or recognition tasks)., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The positive effect of delayed retrieval practice on subsequent test performance is robust; by contrast, making delayed judgments of learning (JOLs) encourages covert retrieval but has a minor influence on final test performance. In three experiments, we experimentally established and explored this memory-metamemory paradox. After initial study of paired associates (e.g., husky - ram), participants either were explicitly tested (husky - ?) or made a JOL. In Experiment 1, we adopted the standard JOL method, using a short retention interval, whereas in Experiments 2 and 3, we used a common testing-effect method involving a longer retention interval. Delayed JOLs did not boost test performance, but explicit delayed tests boosted memory after a longer retention interval. As important, participants spent less time to make JOLs than to retrieve responses. These data indicate that differences in the dynamics of retrieval for practice tests versus delayed JOLs are responsible for the paradox.

Imageability is known to enhance association-memory for verbal paired-associates. High-imageability words can be further subdivided by manipulability, the ease by which the named object can be functionally interacted with. Prior studies suggest that motor processing enhances item-memory, but impairs association-memory. However, these studies used action verbs and concrete nouns as the high- and low-manipulability words, respectively, confounding manipulability with word class. Recent findings demonstrated that nouns can serve as both high- and low-manipulability words (e.g., CAMERA and TABLE, respectively), allowing us to avoid this confound. Here participants studied pairs of words that consisted of all possible pairings of high- and low-manipulability words and were tested with immediate cued recall. Recall was worse for pairs that contained high-manipulability words. In free recall, participants recalled more high- than low-manipulability words. Our results provide further evidence that manipulability influences memory, likely occurring through automatic motor imagery., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Cued recall taps amnesia of "the hippocampal type" as typically found in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Studies investigating the validity of cued recall measures in AD have typically been conducted in research settings. The Category Cued Memory Test (CCMT-48) measures learning/memory using the same categories during encoding and acquisition. The aim of this study was to investigate how frequently impairments were found on the CCMT-48 mild AD patients from a memory clinic (N = 77). We used a case-oriented approach where individually observed scores were compared to expected scores derived from regressions-based normative data. We also investigated if CCMT-48 performances differed in patients with mild AD and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) (N = 90). The results showed a significantly higher frequency of impairment in the AD group as compared to the DLB group for scores below 10th percentile-estimate (impaired: AD 88%; DLB 69%) and 5th percentile-estimate (impaired: AD 82%; DLB 53%). In conclusion, a very high frequency of impairment of a picture-based cued recall test in AD patients (very high sensitivity) in a memory clinic setting. However, specificity is not optimal since impairments also frequently occurred in DLB where memory problems could be assumed to be part of attentional deficits and poor retrieval strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory scientists usually compare mean performance on some measure(s) (accuracy, confidence, latency) as a function of experimental condition. Some researchers have made within-subject variability in task performance a focal outcome measure (e.g., Yao et al., Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 38, 227–237, 2016). Here, we explored between-subject variability in accuracy as a function of experimental conditions. This work was inspired by an incidental finding in a previous study, in which we observed greater variability in accuracy of memory performance on cued recall (CR) versus free recall (FR) of English animal/object nouns (Mah et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1146200, 2023). Here we report experiments designed to assess the reliability of that pattern and to explore its causes (e.g., differential interpretation of instructions, [un]relatedness of CR word pairs, encoding time). In Experiment 1 (N = 120 undergraduates), we replicated the CR:FR variability difference with a more representative set of English nouns. In Experiments 2A (N = 117 Prolific participants) and 2B (N = 127 undergraduates), we found that the CR:FR variability difference persisted in a forced-recall procedure. In Experiment 3 (N = 260 Prolific participants), we used meaningfully related word pairs and still found greater variability in CR than in FR performance. In Experiment 4 (N = 360 Prolific participants), we equated CR and FR study phases by having all participants study pairs and, again, observed greater variability in CR than FR. The same was true in Experiment 5 (N = 120 undergraduates), in which study time was self-paced. Comparisons of variability across subjects can yield insights into the mechanisms underlying task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotion regulation might have an impact on memory performance. Nevertheless, there is still no clear relationship between the type of emotion regulation strategy and the type of information recalled. An experiment was conducted involving 194 participants that performed an online task in which they had to recall three kinds of words (positive, negative, and neutral), with competitive recall cues (first letter), as the same cue was used for a word in each emotional category. They also answered three instruments for measuring emotion regulation (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, ERQ), deficits in emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, DERS), and affective state (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, PANAS). The results showed that participants with higher (vs. lower) levels in cognitive reappraisal performed better at recalling positive words. In turn, deficits in emotion regulation were linked to a weaker performance when recalling words with an emotional content, particularly the dimension of interference in recalling negative words. The results are discussed from the perspective of the processes involved in emotion regulation, while also considering the more stable skill-related aspects when controlling emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tendency for people to have better memory for animate (living) concepts than inanimate (nonliving) concepts in memory tasks involving free recall and recognition suggests that animacy status can be an important predictor of memory. To date, however, the effect of animacy on paired-associates recall has been mixed: Some studies have found an animacy advantage, some have found an animacy disadvantage, and some have found no difference by animacy. We tested the hypothesis that the within-pair relationship of the two words in a pair matters more for cued recall than animacy itself. In two experiments, college students studied animate and inanimate English word pairs for a cued-recall test. We varied whether the pairs involved two typical exemplars from the same category (e.g., SALMON–TROUT; FORK–SPOON), one typical and one atypical exemplar from the same category (e.g., DOCTOR–SCIENTIST; HOUSE–IGLOO), or two unrelated words from different categories (e.g., SERGEANT–COBRA; MAGAZINE–PLIERS). Respectively, these pair types produced an animacy disadvantage, an animacy advantage, and no difference by animacy in both experiments. We then examined several measures of within-pair similarity for the items. All were positively associated with paired-associates recall, but animacy had no effect on cued recall above and beyond the relationship of these measures to recall. These results suggest that the within-pair relationship matters more for cued recall than does animacy. Uneven variation in within-pair relationships for animate versus inanimate pairs—rather than animacy itself—might therefore produce the apparently inconsistent effects of animacy on paired-associates recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recall testing is a common assessment to gauge memory retrieval. Responses from these tests can be analyzed in several ways; however, the output generated from a recall study typically requires manual coding that can be time intensive and error-prone before analyses can be conducted. To address this issue, this article introduces lrd (Lexical Response Data), a set of open-source tools for quickly and accurately processing lexical response data that can be used either from the R command line or through an R Shiny graphical user interface. First, we provide an overview of this package and include a step-by-step user guide for processing both cued- and free-recall responses. For validation of lrd, we used lrd to recode output from cued, free, and sentence-recall studies with large samples and examined whether the results replicated using lrd-scored data. We then assessed the inter-rater reliability and sensitivity and specificity of the scoring algorithm relative to human-coded data. Overall, lrd is highly reliable and shows excellent sensitivity and specificity, indicating that recall data processed using this package are remarkably consistent with data processed by a human coder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of dairy products reduces the risk of dementia and cognitive decline in older individuals. Tryptophan-tyrosine-related β-lactopeptides and their representative β-lactolin of glycine-threonine-tryptophan-tyrosine tetra-peptide have been identified as agents in dairy products, which improve cognitive function as well as memory function via the activation of the dopaminergic system in a mouse model of amnesia. Previous clinical trials have shown that supplementation with β-lactolin improves memory retrieval in healthy older adults. Specifically, β-lactolin improved the scores in some neuropsychological tests. However, the effects of β-lactolin on memory function have not been clarified. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of β-lactolin on memory function using statistical methods. Data Sources: We searched the Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and JDream III until November 2021 to identify relevant randomized controlled trials for integrated analysis. Data Synthesis: Three randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of β-lactolin on memory in healthy adults were selected for the integrated analysis. The results showed that the score of cued recall among the neuropsychological tests in the β-lactolin group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group (g=0.33; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.55). In addition, the total memory score was higher but this difference was not significant (g=0.17; 95% CI: −0.09, 0.43). Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that supplementation with β-lactolin improves cued recall in healthy older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cued recall of word pairs is improved by asking participants to combine items in an interactive image. Meanwhile, interactive images facilitate serial-recall (Link Method), but even better when each item is imagined alongside a previously learned peg-word (Peg List Method). We asked if a peg system could support memory for pairs, hypothesising it would outperform interactive imagery. Tested with cued recall, five study strategies were manipulated between-subjects, across two experiments: (1) Both words linked to one peg; (2) Each word linked to a different peg; (3) Peg list method but studying as a serial list; (4) Interactive imagery (within-pairs); (5) Link Method. Participants were able to apply peg-list strategies to pairs, as anticipated by mathematical modelling. Error-patterns spoke to mathematical models; peg lists exhibited distance-based confusability, characteristic of positional-coding models, and errors tended to preserve within-pair position, even for inter-item associative strategies, suggesting models of association should incorporate position. However, the peg list strategies came with a speed–accuracy tradeoff and did not challenge the superiority of the interactive imagery strategy. Without extensive practice with peg list strategies, interactive imagery remains superior for associations. Peg strategies may excel instead in tasks that primarily test serial order or with extensive training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial location is believed to have a privileged role in binding features held in visual working memory. Supporting this view, Pertzov and Husain (Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 76(7), 1914–1924, 2014) reported that recall of bindings between visual features was selectively impaired when items were presented sequentially at the same location compared to sequentially at different locations. We replicated their experiment, but additionally tested whether the observed impairment could be explained by perceptual interference during encoding. Participants viewed four oriented bars in highly discriminable colors presented sequentially either at the same or different locations, and after a brief delay were cued with one color to reproduce the associated orientation. When we used the same timing as the original study, we reproduced its key finding of impaired binding memory in the same-location condition. Critically, however, this effect was significantly modulated by the duration of the inter-stimulus interval, and disappeared if memoranda were presented with longer delays between them. In a second experiment, we tested whether the effect generalized to other visual features, namely reporting of colors cued by stimulus shape. While we found performance deficits in the same-location condition, these did not selectively affect binding memory. We argue that the observed effects are best explained by encoding interference, and that memory for feature binding is not necessarily impaired when memoranda share the same location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond conveying objective content about objects and actions, what can co-speech iconic gestures reveal about a speaker's subjective relationship to that content? The present study explores this question by investigating how gesture viewpoints can inform a listener's construal of a speaker's agency. Forty native English speakers watched videos of an actor uttering sentences with different viewpoints—that of low agency or high agency—conveyed through both speech and gesture. Participants were asked to (1) rate the speaker's responsibility for the action described in each video (encoding task) and (2) complete a surprise memory test of the spoken sentences (recall task). For the encoding task, participants rated responsibility near ceiling when agency in speech was high, with a slight dip when accompanied by gestures of low agency. When agency in speech was low, responsibility ratings were raised markedly when accompanied by gestures of high agency. In the recall task, participants produced more incorrect recall of spoken agency when the viewpoints expressed through speech and gesture were inconsistent with one another. Our findings suggest that, beyond conveying objective content, co-speech iconic gestures can also guide listeners in gauging a speaker's agentic relationship to actions and events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined affective consequences arising from the kinds of memory retrieval failures that often accompany social interaction. To do so, we measured the influence of cued-recall outcomes for biographical information on the rated attractiveness of faces. The data demonstrate that retrieval of names (Experiment 1a) and professions (Experiment 1b) increases the rated attractiveness of target faces relative to faces that failed to produce recall of associative information. This was predicted by a confirmation of search (COS) model originally developed on verbal memoranda, which assumes that confirmation bias during memory search leads to affective consequences depending upon retrieval's success or failure. The current study extends this model, showing that evaluative judgments of individuals are in part contingent upon the memory retrieval skills of their assessors. We conclude by discussing potential extensions of the COS paradigm to the measurement of implicit attitudes and special populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retrieval practice is generally considered to be one of the most effective long-term learning strategies and is presumed to be more favorable than repeated study. However, a few recent studies have demonstrated that repetitive feedback at final recall can reverse the long-term advantage of testing over restudy. The result that feedback at long-term tests can dramatically decrease the relative effectiveness of retrieval-based learning could be important for both theoretical and practical reasons. Considering that these earlier studies administered low retrieval success at retrieval practice, we investigated whether the effect of feedback on the testing effect is modulated by the level of retrieval success during practice. In three experiments the level of success at retrieval practice was manipulated by multiple pre-practice learning trials, and multiple tests with feedback were applied after a 1-week retention interval at final recall. Our results have demonstrated that a feedback-induced reversed testing effect was present only at low retrieval success during practice (Experiment 1), whereas with moderate (Experiment 2) and high retrieval success (Experiment 3) during practice a significant testing effect emerged and no reversed testing effect was found even after repeated cycles of feedback. These results point to the conclusion that the level of retrieval success was the key factor in reversing the testing effect in earlier studies. Application of high retrieval success during practice can produce long-lasting accessible memories even in learning settings applying multiple tests with feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recognition memory paradigms, emotional details are often recognised better than neutral ones, but at the cost of memory for peripheral details. We previously provided evidence that, when peripheral details must be recalled using central details as cues, peripheral details from emotional scenes are at least as likely to be recalled as those from neutral scenes. Here we replicated and explicated this result by implementing a mathematical modelling approach to disambiguate the influence of target type, scene emotionality, scene valence, and their interactions. After incidentally encoding scenes that included neutral backgrounds with a positive, negative, or neutral foreground objects, participants showed equal or better cued recall of components from emotional scenes compared to neutral scenes. There was no evidence of emotion-based impairment in cued recall in either of two experiments, including one in which we replicated the emotion-induced memory trade-off in recognition. Mathematical model fits indicated that the emotionality of the encoded scene was the primary driver of improved cued-recall performance. Thus, even when emotion impairs recognition of peripheral components of scenes, it can preserve the ability to recall which scene components were studied together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ongoing debate in the memory literature concerns whether the list-length effect (better memory for short lists compared with long lists) exists in item recognition (Annis, Lenes, Westfall, Criss, & Malmberg, 2015; Dennis, Lee, & Kinnell, 2008). This debate was initiated when Dennis and Humphreys (2001) showed that, when confounds present in earlier list-length experiments were controlled, the list-length effect disappeared. The issue has yet to be settled. Interestingly, the same confounds present in recognition experiments exist in cued-recall experiments. Here, we implemented Dennis and Humphreys' (2001) methodological controls to test for the list-length effect in cued recall. In Experiment 1, we found a robust list-length effect when start-of-study items from the long list were tested. However, no list-length effect was found in Experiments 2 and 3 when end-of-study items from the long list were tested. These results are consistent with the view that cued recall is susceptible to retroactive interference but not proactive interference, a position supported by early interference work (e.g., Lindauer, 1968; Melton & von Lackum, 1941). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paired-associate learning is one of the most commonly used paradigms to study human memory. In many of these studies, participants are typically told to learn foreign language–English translations, such as Swahili–English or Lithuanian–English pairs. One limitation of these currently available foreign language–English translation norms is that their foreign languages are based on the alphabetic writing system, thereby preventing researchers from generalizing their findings to languages based on logographic writing systems. In the present study we collected normative data for 160 Chinese–English word pairs. Participants completed three study–test cycles, followed by metacognitive judgments on their learning experience. For each pair, we report recall performance, recall latency, ease of learning, and judgments of learning. A simultaneous multiple regression analysis with frequency (of both the English word and the Chinese character), word length (English), and number of strokes (Chinese) as predictors revealed that a greater number of strokes (or higher visual complexity) for the Chinese characters predicted lower target recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this paper is to elucidate the mechanisms governing output interference in cued recall. Output interference describes the phenomenon where accuracy decrease over the course of an episodic memory test. Output inference in cued recall takes the form of a decrease in correct and intrusion responses and an increase in failures to response across the test. This pattern can only be accounted for by a model with two complementary mechanisms: learning during retrieval and a response filter that prevents repeated recall of the same item. We investigate how a retrieval filter might operate by manipulating the similarity of words. The data are consistent with a retrieval filter that does not operate by a global match of a potential target to previously recalled items. Results are discussed within the search of associative memory theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Forward testing effect confound in cued-recall tasks investigating the testing effect. • Dual-memory model predictions hold even with the forward testing effect confound. • Cued-recall designs with confound have different cumulative distribution shapes. • We advance a theoretical account of the forward testing effect. Recall from episodic memory has been shown to enhance both memory for the retrieved information (e.g., relative to a restudy control condition; the testing effect, or TE) and memory for different, subsequently studied materials (the forward testing effect, or FTE). Hence, the TE may be subject to an FTE confound when training in a TE experiment involves either testing prior to restudy or when restudied and tested items are randomly mixed. Across two cued-recall TE experiments, we show that (1) a potent FTE confound exists in the test-first but not the mixed training design, (2) there are no other evident learning related interactions between restudied and tested items across three frequently used training phase task orderings, and (3) the predictions of the dual-memory model of test-enhanced learning – which posits that a test trial creates a memory that is separate from the initially encoded study memory, yielding two routes to retrieval for tested items – are held both when there is and is not a confounding FTE. Further, our results yielded no evidence for two accounts of the FTE (the proactive interference and reset of encoding hypotheses) as applied to cued recall but are consistent with two alternative accounts (the strategy change and increasing effort hypotheses). Through distribution analyses we identify a novel and potent FTE individual differences effect that can be accommodated by the latter accounts. Finally, we show that at least three large- n studies exploring individual differences in the TE are confounded by the FTE, compromising conclusions in those papers about the efficacy of the TE across individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide new evidence concerning two opposing views of episodic associations: The independent-association hypothesis posits that associations are unidirectional and separately modifiable links (A→B and A←B); in contrast, the associative-symmetry hypothesis proposes that a single, bidirectional association exists between A and B (A↔B). We used a novel method to demonstrate that whether or not episodic associations are symmetric depends on whether there is a preexisting semantic relationship between A and B. In two experiments, participants studied 30 semantically unrelated and 30 semantically related pairs intermixed in a single list and then performed a series of up to eight cued-recall test cycles. All pairs were tested in each cycle, and the testing direction (A–? or B–?) alternated between cycles. Unrelated pairs exhibited associative symmetry—that is, accuracy and response times improved gradually on each test—suggesting that testing in both directions strengthened the same association. In contrast, semantically related pairs exhibited a stair-like pattern, in which performance did not change from odd to even tests when the test direction changed; it only improved between tests in the same direction. We concluded that episodic associations can have either a single bidirectional representation or separate directional representations, depending on the semantic relatedness of their constituent items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Involuntary retrieval triggers mostly highly accessible memories, while intentional retrieval activates low-accessibility memories. • Expecting to retrieve a memory lead to the retrieval of memories with low accessibility and changes their frequency and characteristics. • When cues are self-selected, voluntary memories tend to be directly rather than effortfully retrieved. • The difference between involuntary and voluntary memories is not just the intention to retrieve. While involuntary memories are retrieved with no intention and are usually unexpected (when one is not waiting for a memory to arise), voluntary memories are intended and expected (when one is searching and waiting for a memory to arise). The present study aimed to investigate the effects of retrieval intentionality (i.e. wanting to retrieve a memory) and monitoring processes (i.e. waiting for a memory to appear) during autobiographical memory retrieval. In addition, we introduced two novel laboratory conditions that have not been used in previous research on voluntary memories: in the first, participants were asked to report anything they could think of in response to each cue word; in the second, they could skip a word if nothing came to mind. These novel manipulations allowed us to differentiate between voluntary memories retrieved in response to experimenter-generated cues (when participants were forced to provide a memory or a thought for each cue) and self-selected cues (when participants were free to not answer a cue if they found it too difficult). We found that highly accessible memories were mostly experienced when retrieval was involuntary and unexpected, while memories with low accessibility were accessed through intentional retrieval and monitoring processes. Response times for memories recalled in the experimenter-generated cue conditions were longer compared to the self-selected cue conditions. This novel finding shows that experimenter-generated recall favours memories with low accessibility; it further supports the idea that, in a substantial number of trials, voluntary memories are directly rather than effortfully retrieved. The idea that the driving force behind differences between involuntary and voluntary memories is not the intention per se is further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary and convergent retrieval (PCR) model assumes that the act of successful recall not only boosts associations between the item and retrieval cues but additionally strengthens associations within the item (i.e., between the features of an item), speeding the rate of information retrieval from memory. The latter effect is termed intra-item learning and is a unique benefit of recall practice (i.e., the "testing effect"). Prior work confirmed the prediction that recall practice produces faster subsequent recall than restudy practice even if accuracy is higher following restudy. The current study replicated this result, but also examined the downside of recall practice: that after a failure to recall during practice, participants will be faster in their failure to recall on a subsequent recall test. This prediction was confirmed in a multisession cued recall experiment that collected accuracy and recall latency measurements for no practice, recall practice, or restudy, with an immediate or delayed final test. The linear ballistic accumulator model was fit to latency distributions, and model comparison determined that these effects reflect differences in drift rates, as predicted by the PCR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Increased levels of worry, age, and presence of the apolipoprotein-E (ApoE)-ε4 allele are associated with the risk of developing cognitive declines and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Odor memory perfomiance has been shown to vary as a function of age and ApoE genotype, and odor memory tests are sensitive to preclinical AD. Worry is known to influence verbal memory; however, its effects on odor memory are unknown. This study aimed to assess the relationships between worry, age, and ε4 status on odor memory. Method: Worry was evaluated for young (n = 53) and older (n = 45) adults using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Odor memory was assessed using the California Odor Learning Test, an olfactory analogue to the California Verbal Learning Test. Results: A significant main effect of worry on long-delay free recall was found, such that increasing worry was associated with better recall across age and ε4 status. A significant interaction effect between ε4 status and worry on both short-and long-delay cued recall was found, such that across age, higher worry was associated with increased cued recall scores among ε4-negative adults, and decreased scores among ε4-positive adults. Conclusions: Findings demonstrated that worry influences odor memory and exerts a particular effect on cued recall among ε4 carriers who are at a greater risk of developing AD. Worry is a modifiable predictor of cognitive decline and risk of dementia in aging. Future studies on the effects of treatments aimed at reducing worry (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapies for anxiety) on changes in cognitive functioning are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does visual working memory (WM) store the binding between different features of a visual object (like colour, orientation, and location), and does memorizing these bindings require additional resources beyond memorizing individual features? These questions have traditionally been addressed by comparing performance across different types of change detection task. More recently, experimental tasks such as analogue (cued) recall, combined with analysis methods including Bayesian hypothesis testing and formal model comparison, have shed new light on the properties of WM. A significant new perspective is that noise in neural representation limits the precision of recall, and several recent models incorporate this view to account for failures of binding in WM. We review the literature on feature binding with a focus on these new developments and discuss their implications for the interpretation of classical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new theory for the benefits of recall practice based on intra-item learning. On this account, retrieval cues produce an initial memory state (termed ‘primary retrieval’). However, this state is incomplete and insufficient for overt recall of the item. A subsequent process, termed ‘convergent retrieval’, fills in any missing information through intra-item associations, allowing recall of the item. Because this occurs in a staged manner, directional learning occurs from the initially retrieved features to the subsequently retrieved features; in contrast, restudy produces less intra-item learning because restudy provides all features simultaneously. This account of the testing effect makes unique predictions regarding recall latencies. We confirmed these predictions in two experiments, examining recall latencies in free recall and cued recall. Specifically, for a final test taken immediately after a practice test that did not include accuracy feedback, restudy produced higher accuracy than test practice, but, at the same time, test practice produced faster recall than restudy. In other words, a comparison between accuracy and recall latencies suggests a process dissociation for the benefits of each type of practice. Alternative accounts of these effects were ruled out: (1) response order analyses of the free recall experiment ruled out cue-target associations; and (2) a cue-switching manipulation in the cued recall experiment (recall practice with cue A, final recall with cue B) ruled out context-target associations. According to the proposed theory, intra-item learning is narrow in one sense (i.e., unique to the cues used during practice), but robust in another sense (i.e., learning how to recall the item). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying characteristics that distinguish between people with relatively good versus poor episodic memory is an important goal of eyewitness-memory research, as is identifying activities that can improve people’s ability to retrieve episodic memories. Consistency of hand preference is a trait associated with the quality of people’s episodic memory and repetitive saccade execution is an activity known to improve people’s ability to retrieve episodic memories. These factors were examined in relation to cued and free recall of a staged criminal event. Individuals with inconsistent hand preference (versus consistent) remembered more on a cued-recall test and also freely recalled a larger amount of victim information. Repetitive saccade execution did not increase cued recall but did increase free recall of victim information. Theoretical implications are discussed, as is potential practical significance, with an emphasis on the size of the observed effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying characteristics that distinguish between people with relatively good versus poor episodic memory is an important goal of eyewitness-memory research, as is identifying activities that can improve people’s ability to retrieve episodic memories. Consistency of hand preference is a trait associated with the quality of people’s episodic memory and repetitive saccade execution is an activity known to improve people’s ability to retrieve episodic memories. These factors were examined in relation to cued and free recall of a staged criminal event. Individuals with inconsistent hand preference (versus consistent) remembered more on a cued-recall test and also freely recalled a larger amount of victim information. Repetitive saccade execution did not increase cued recall but did increase free recall of victim information. Theoretical implications are discussed, as is potential practical significance, with an emphasis on the size of the observed effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory retrieval is a cognitive operation that itself can be remembered or forgotten, with potentially important consequences. To study memory for prior remembering, we had participants first study target words (e.g., bark) alongside semantically related cue words (e.g., dog). Then, on Test 1, participants retrieved targets in response to either the study cue or a changed cue that was semantically related to a homograph of the target (e.g., birch). Finally, on Test 2, participants retrieved all targets in response to the original study cues, and participants judged whether targets were previously retrieved on Test 1. As in previous research, cue change on Test 1 rendered target retrievals less memorable, suggesting context changes harm memory for prior remembering. We hypothesised that the negative effect of context change could be ameliorated by reminding participants of the original study cues during Test 1. We had participants either retrieve (Experiments 1 and 3, Ns = 46 and 62) or view (Experiment 2, N = 118) the study cue following each target retrieval. Reminding significantly reduced the negative effect of cue change, with self-generation being especially potent. This indicates that reminding can make remembering more memorable in the face of context change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory retrieval is a cognitive operation that itself can be remembered or forgotten, with potentially important consequences. To study memory for prior remembering, we had participants first study target words (e.g., bark) alongside semantically related cue words (e.g., dog). Then, on Test 1, participants retrieved targets in response to either the study cue or a changed cue that was semantically related to a homograph of the target (e.g., birch). Finally, on Test 2, participants retrieved all targets in response to the original study cues, and participants judged whether targets were previously retrieved on Test 1. As in previous research, cue change on Test 1 rendered target retrievals less memorable, suggesting context changes harm memory for prior remembering. We hypothesised that the negative effect of context change could be ameliorated by reminding participants of the original study cues during Test 1. We had participants either retrieve (Experiments 1 and 3, Ns = 46 and 62) or view (Experiment 2, N = 118) the study cue following each target retrieval. Reminding significantly reduced the negative effect of cue change, with self-generation being especially potent. This indicates that reminding can make remembering more memorable in the face of context change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Association-memory is a major focus of verbal memory research. However, experimental paradigms have only occasionally tested memory for the order of the constituent items (AB versus BA). Published models of association-memory, implicitly, make clear assumptions about whether associations are learned without order (e.g., convolution-based models) or with unambiguous order (e.g., matrix models). Seeking empirical data to test these assumptions, participants studied lists of word-pairs, and were tested with cued recall, associative recognition and constituent-order recognition. Order-recognition was well above chance, challenging strict convolution-based models, but only moderately coupled with association-memory. Convolution models are thus insufficient, needing an additional mechanism to infer constituent order, in a manner that is moderately correlated with association-memory. Current matrix models provide order, but over-predict the coupling of order- and association-memory. In a simulation, when we allowed for order to be wrongly encoded for some proportion of pairs, order-recognition could be decoupled from cued recall. This led to the prediction that participants should persist with their incorrect order judgement between initial and final order-recognition, but this was not supported by the data. These findings demand that current models be amended, to provide order-memory, while explaining how order can be ambiguous even when the association, itself, is remembered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convolution is a mathematical operation used in vector-models of memory that have been successful in explaining a broad range of behaviour, including memory for associations between pairs of items, an important primitive of memory upon which a broad range of everyday memory behaviour depends. However, convolution models have trouble with naturalistic item representations, which are highly auto-correlated (as one finds, e.g., with photographs), and this has cast doubt on their neural plausibility. Consequently, modellers working with convolution have used item representations composed of randomly drawn values, but introducing so-called noise-like representation raises the question how those random-like values might relate to actual item properties. We propose that a compromise solution to this problem may already exist. It has also long been known that the brain tends to reduce auto-correlations in its inputs. For example, centre-surround cells in the retina approximate a Difference-of-Gaussians (DoG) transform. This enhances edges, but also turns natural images into images that are closer to being statistically like white noise. We show the DoG-transformed images, although not optimal compared to noise-like representations, survive the convolution model better than naturalistic images. This is a proof-of-principle that the pervasive tendency of the brain to reduce auto-correlations may result in representations of information that are already adequately compatible with convolution, supporting the neural plausibility of convolution-based association-memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Episodic memory is the process by which information about experienced events is encoded and retrieved. Successful retrieval of episodic memories is dependent on the way in which memory is tested and as a result many effects and theories of episodic memory are task dependent. One such finding is the list strength effect. In free recall, a positive list strength effect is observed; memory for a given item is harmed by the presence of other strongly encoded items and helped by the presence of other weakly encoded items. In recognition, a null list strength is observed; memory for a given item is unaffected by the strength of other items. Such differential empirical findings are crucial to understanding memory, but it is undesirable to have multiple task-specific theories rather than a unified theory of memory. Here we use cued recall, a task that shares properties of both free recall and recognition, to move toward that goal. In a series of 5 experiments, we observed a null list strength effect in cued recall. We suggest that a successful theory would entail the use of both item and context information during retrieval, consistent with the approach of the Search of Associative Memory model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of learning style is immensely popular despite the lack of evidence showing that learning style influences performance. This study tested the hypothesis that the popularity of learning style is maintained because it is associated with subjective aspects of learning, such as judgements of learning ( JOLs). Preference for verbal and visual information was assessed using the revised Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire ( VVQ). Then, participants studied a list of word pairs and a list of picture pairs, making JOLs (immediate, delayed, and global) while studying each list. Learning was tested by cued recall. The results showed that higher VVQ verbalizer scores were associated with higher immediate JOLs for words, and higher VVQ visualizer scores were associated with higher immediate JOLs for pictures. There was no association between VVQ scores and recall or JOL accuracy. As predicted, learning style was associated with subjective aspects of learning but not objective aspects of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined if apes spontaneously remember one-time, distinctive events across long delays when probed by discriminant cues. Apes witnessed an experimenter hide a cache of food, which they could then retrieve. They retrieved one of two food types; one more distinctive than the other. Two, 10 or 50 weeks later, the apes returned to the same enclosure and found a piece of the previously hidden food on the ground. An experimenter who had not hidden the food was also present. Apes immediately searched the location where the food was previously hidden (no food was here), showing recall of the event. One week later, apes returned to the same enclosure, with the same food on the ground, but now the experimenter that had hidden the food was present. Again, apes immediately searched the hiding location. Apes that had not witnessed the hiding event did not search. There was no significant effect of food type, and retention declined from exposure to the two-week delay, then levelled, consistent with the forgetting curve in humans (Ebbinghaus, H. 1964 Memory: a contribution to experimental psychology (transl. H.A. Ruger & C.E. Bussenvis). New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published 1885.)). This is the first study to show apes can recall a one-time, non-goal-directed event longer than two weeks ago and that apes' recall declines in accordance with a standard retention function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confusion of older information with newer, similar information is a potent source of memory errors. The current project focused on understanding how memories for recent experiences interact, or interfere, with other related information. In the experiments, participants study multiple lists of pairs of items. Items from an initial study list (e.g., A-B) reappear on a second study list paired with new, other items (e.g., A-Br). Memory performance for A-Br pairs is contrasted with control pairs exclusive to the second study list (e.g., C-D). We observed that the correct recall of the second presentation of a target (Br) is better when cued by its partner (A) despite being studied with a different partner during the initial presentation; a phenomena called proactive facilitation. We examined multiple possible explanations for proactive facilitation, including whether proactive facilitation was driven by changes in response threshold, whether participants encoded the pairs with repeated items and associations better during the second study list, or whether participants spent more time searching memory for A-Br pairs. In general, the data appear to be most consistent with the idea that some items, when encountered a second time, are encoded more completely while others are not. Implications for models of memory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) eyewitnesses interact regularly with police officers in the US and Canada, little research has examined their testimonies. This study sought to assess the testimony accuracy of 17 ESL witnesses, and the contemporaneous notes the officers made during free and cued recall questioning. We assessed accuracy using two methods: A checklist approach (CL) that has been used in past studies (e.g., List, 1986) and an inductive microanalysis of face-to-face dialogue (MFD) approach that was developed for this study. We found that witnesses gave more accurate information in free recall and made more errors in cued recall when both the CL and MFD methods of analysis were used. The same pattern of results held for the officer note data. When we directly compared the MFD and CL data, however, we found that the MFD method captured more information (both accurate and inaccurate witness details), suggesting that it provides richer accuracy data for eyewitness testimony and officer notes. Future research on ESL witness testimony using the MFD approach is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are the most common forms of dementia. It is well known that memory deficits in AD are different from those in VaD and FTD, especially with respect to cued recall. The aim of this clinical study was to compare the memory performance in 15 AD, 10 VaD and 9 FTD patients and 20 normal controls by means of a 24-item Grober-Buschke test [8]. The patients' groups were comparable in terms of severity of dementia. We considered free and total recall (free plus cued) both in immediate and delayed recall and computed an Index of Sensitivity to Cueing (ISC) [8] for immediate and delayed trials. We assessed whether cued recall predicted the subsequent free recall across our patients' groups. We found that AD patients recalled fewer items from the beginning and were less sensitive to cueing supporting the hypothesis that memory disorders in AD depend on encoding and storage deficit. In immediate recall VaD and FTD showed a similar memory performance and a stronger sensitivity to cueing than AD, suggesting that memory disorders in these patients are due to a difficulty in spontaneously implementing efficient retrieval strategies. However, we found a lower ISC in the delayed recall compared to the immediate trials in VaD than FTD due to a higher forgetting in VaD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Retrieval practice yields better memory retention than other learning strategies. • Stress can impair cued recall of previously learned material. • The deleterious effects of stress on cued recall may be reduced by retrieval practice. • Stimulus difficulty modulates the benefit of retrieval practice on cued recall under stress. • Stress impairs memory for easy materials, but enhances memory for difficult materials. Retrieval practice, the act of recalling previously studied information, yields greater memory retention than repeated studying (retrieval practice effect). Retrieval practice can also protect memories against the negative effects of stress at retrieval in free recall tests. In cued-recall tests, however, retrieval practice may not provide complete protection against stress-related memory impairments. Here we ask whether these conflicting results may be explained by the relative difficulty of the study materials. Participants (59 men) first studied 40 Swahili-Portuguese word pairs. Half of the pairs were then repeatedly studied while the other half were repeatedly recalled. In each condition, half of the pairs were easy to remember (high in memorability) while the other half were more difficult to remember (low in memorability). Participants returned 1 week later for a final cued-recall test. Half of the participants underwent a stress-induction protocol (modified Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test) 25 min before the final test for all 40-word pairs; the other half underwent a control condition. Salivary cortisol and questionnaire responses were used to assess the efficacy of stress induction. Participants recalled more word pairs learned via retrieval practice than via repeated study, replicating previous research. More importantly, the results revealed an interaction such that stress decreased recall for easy items, but increased recall for difficult items that had been successfully retrieved during encoding (conditional analysis). The results suggest that the impact of stress on cued recall depends both on the learning strategy and on the intrinsic difficulty of the to-be-learned materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to prescriptive decision theories, the generation of options for choice is a central aspect of decision making. A too narrow representation of the problem may indeed limit the opportunity to evaluate promising options. However, despite the theoretical and applied significance of this topic, the cognitive processes underlying option generation are still unclear. In particular, while a cued recall account of option generation emphasizes the role of memory and executive control, other theoretical proposals stress the importance of ideation processes based on various search and thinking processes. Unfortunately, relevant behavioral evidence on the cognitive processes underlying option generation is scattered and inconclusive. In order to reach a better understanding, we carried out an individual-differences study employing a wide array of cognitive predictors, including measures of episodic memory, semantic memory, cognitive control, and ideation fluency. The criterion tasks consisted of three different poorly-structured decision-making scenarios, and the participants were asked to generate options to solve these problems. The main criterion variable of the study was the number of valid options generated, but also the diversity and the quality of generated options were examined. The results showed that option generation fluency and diversity in the context of ill-structured decision making are supported by ideation ability even after taking into account the effects of individual differences in several other aspects of cognitive functioning. Thus, ideation processes, possibly supported by search and thinking processes, seem to contribute to option generation beyond basic associative memory retrieval. The findings of the study also indicate that generating more options may have multifaceted consequences for choice, increasing the quality of the best option generated but decreasing the mean quality of the options in the generated set.