Abstract
Although many studies have demonstrated that recall is better when tested in the learning environmental context (EC) than in a new EC, almost all of the studies have failed to find EC-dependent memory when recognition was used to measure memory. Evidence of EC-dependent recognition, however, was found in the three experiments of the present study, in which an incidental short-term memory task was used for input of learned material. The results suggest that type of processing during input is a predictor of context-dependent recognition; material studied for a long-term memory test is not susceptible to background context effects, whereas material merely maintained for a short-term memory test is more apt to lead to EC-dependent recognition.
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This research was supported by NIMH Grant No. 1 R01 MH39977-01 awarded to Steven M. Smith. Experiments 1 and 2 were reported at the 1984 meeting of the Psychonomic Society in San Antonio, TX.
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Smith, S.M. Environmental context-dependent recognition memory using a short-term memory task for input. Mem Cogn 14, 347–354 (1986). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202513
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202513