Abstract
In two experiments, subjects read or generated items at both encoding and retrieval. At test, they were required to decide whether or not the targets were presented initially (recognition), and if so, whether they were initially read or generated (judgments of origin). Recognition for items that were initially generated was enhanced if they were once again generated at test in the same context, but not if they were generated at test without context. These results confirm that memory for occurrence is facilitated by repetition of the initial encoding operations at retrieval. Generating at test resulted in an increase in “generate” responses both for items that were initially generated and for items that were initially read. Overall, there was a decrease in the accuracy of origin discriminations. It is suggested that, when subjects generate at test, they are likely to mistakenly attribute these just-performed operations to be part of the memory trace for that item.
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This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH42665, Portions of this research were presented at the annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Seattle, November 1987. I thank Risa Evans, Karen Dine, Eva Pomerantz, and Ting Lan Chin for experimental assistance.
—Accepted by previous editor, Alice F. Healy
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Rabinowitz, J.C. Effects of repetition of mental operations on memory for occurrence and origin. Mem Cogn 18, 72–82 (1990). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202648
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202648