Abstract
While memory for semantically related items is improved over unrelated items in many cases, relatedness can also lead to memory costs. Here we examined how the semantic relatedness of words within a display influenced memory for their locations. Participants learned the locations of words inside grid displays; the words in a given display were either from a single category or were from different assorted categories. When a display containing words from a single category was compared to a scrambled display containing words from multiple categories, location memory performance was rendered worse, while word recall performance was significantly improved. Our results suggest that semantically structured spaces can both help and harm memory within the context of a location memory task. We hypothesize that relatedness can improve memory performance by increasing the likelihood that matching candidates will be retrieved, yet might worsen performance that requires distinguishing between similar target representations.
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Data availability
The data and R scripts for these experiments have been made available on a third-party archive (https://osf.io/8xf6a/).
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge and thank Jocelyn Cheng and Aisling Sampson for their assistance in stimuli preparation and data coding.
Funding
This work was supported by a Discovery Grant (#04091) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), an Early Researcher Award from the Province of Ontario (#ER14-10-258), funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Ontario Research Fund (#37872) and from the Canada Research Chairs (#950-232147) program to E.F.R, and Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships from the NSERC to X.L. and M.J.H.Z.
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X.L. wrote the main manuscript text, analyzed data and prepared figures. M.J.H.Z. analyzed data and prepared figures. All authors edited and reviewed the manuscript.
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Appendices
Appendix
Word lists used as stimuli.
Experiments 1a and 1b
wearable | tools | toiletries | office | kitchen | instruments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
sneakers | cutters | hairbrush | eraser | spatula | saxophone |
necklace | pliers | deodorant | binder | muffin | banjo |
sweater | screwdriver | toothpaste | clipboard | kettle | clarinet |
sunglasses | scissors | lotion | ruler | sponge | harp |
socks | wrench | floss | pencil | mug | violin |
gloves | axe | comb | calculator | toaster | flute |
jeans | drill | razor | notebook | spoon | trumpet |
shorts | hammer | towel | envelope | tray | drum |
shirt | pocketknife | mouthwash | folder | whisk | piano |
belt | bolt | soap | printer | pan | bass |
Experiment 2
animal | building | carpentry | clothing |
|---|---|---|---|
bear | apartment | chisel | hat |
cat | cabin | drill | jacket |
cow | condo | hammer | pants |
deer | dorm | nail | shirt |
dog | house | ruler | shoes |
elephant | hut | sander | shorts |
horse | mansion | saw | skirt |
lion | shack | screw | socks |
pig | tent | screwdriver | sweater |
tiger | trailer | wrench | underwear |
fruit | reading | furniture | kitchen |
|---|---|---|---|
apple | article | bed | bowl |
banana | book | chair | fork |
grape | journal | couch | knife |
kiwi | letter | desk | ladle |
orange | magazine | dresser | pan |
peach | newspaper | lamp | plate |
pear | novel | loveseat | pot |
pineapple | pamphlet | sofa | spatula |
strawberry | textbook | stool | spoon |
watermelon | website | table | whisk |
time | flavoring | relative |
|---|---|---|
century | butter | aunt |
day | garlic | brother |
decade | ketchup | cousin |
hour | mustard | father |
millisecond | onions | grandfather |
minute | pepper | grandmother |
month | salt | mother |
second | spices | niece |
week | sugar | sister |
year | vanilla | uncle |
Experiment 3
wearables | tools | toiletries | office |
|---|---|---|---|
sneakers | cutters | hairbrush | eraser |
necklace | pliers | deodorant | binder |
sweater | screwdriver | toothpaste | clipboard |
sunglasses | scissors | lotion | ruler |
socks | wrench | floss | pencil |
gloves | axe | comb | calculator |
jeans | drill | razor | notebook |
shorts | hammer | towel | envelope |
shirt | pocketknife | mouthwash | folder |
belt | bolt | soap | printer |
kitchen | instruments | toys | sports |
|---|---|---|---|
spatula | saxophone | chessboard | basketball |
plate | banjo | dice | bicycle |
kettle | clarinet | doll | frisbee |
tongs | harp | kite | helmet |
mug | violin | puzzle | jumprope |
toaster | flute | scrabble | shuttlecock |
spoon | trumpet | slinky | skateboard |
tray | drum | uno | skis |
whisk | piano | lego | trampoline |
pan | bass | checkers | volleyball |
furniture | pantry | cleaning |
|---|---|---|
table | pasta | mop |
couch | rice | vacuum |
lamp | milk | detergent |
nightstand | sugar | rag |
shelf | flour | duster |
cabinet | bread | disinfectant |
sofa | cereal | dustpan |
stool | salt | broom |
carpet | pepper | bleach |
armchair | chips | sponge |
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Lu, X., Zhu, M.J.H. & Risko, E.F. Semantic relatedness can impair memory for item locations. Psychological Research 88, 861–879 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-023-01889-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-023-01889-7