Abstract
False recall of an unpresented critical word after studying its semantic associates can be reduced substantially if the strongest and earliest-studied associates are presented as part-list cues during testing (Kimball & Bjork, 2002). To disentangle episodic and semantic contributions to this decline in false recall, we factorially manipulated the cues’ serial position and their strength of association to the critical word. Presenting cues comprising words that had been studied early in a list produced a greater reduction in false recall than did presenting words studied late in the list, independent of the cues’ associative strength, but only when recall of the cues themselves was prohibited. When recall of the cues was permitted, neither early-studied nor late-studied cues decreased false recall reliably, relative to uncued lists. The findings suggest that critical words and early-studied words share a similar fate during recall, owing to selective episodic strengthening of their associations during study.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Bäuml, K.-H., & Aslan, A. (2004). Part-list cuing as instructed retrieval inhibition. Memory & Cognition, 32, 610–617.
Bäuml, K.-H., & Kuhbandner, C. (2003). Retrieval-induced forgetting and part-list cuing in associatively structured lists. Memory & Cognition, 31, 1188–1197.
Brainerd, C. J., & Reyna, V. F. (2005). The science of false memory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Deese, J. (1959). On the prediction of occurrence of particular verbal intrusions in immediate recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 17–22.
Gallo, D. (2006). Associative illusions of memory: False memory research in DRM and related tasks. New York: Psychology Press.
Goodwin, K. A., Meissner, C. A., & Ericsson, K. A. (2001). Toward a model of false recall: Experimental manipulation of encoding context and the collection of verbal reports. Memory & Cognition, 29, 806–819.
Kimball, D. R., & Bjork, R. A. (2002). Influences of intentional and unintentional forgetting on false memories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 131, 116–130.
Kimball, D. R., Smith, T. A., & Kahana, M. J. (2007). The fSAM model of false recall. Psychological Review, 114, 954–993.
Nickerson, R. S. (1984). Retrieval inhibition from part-set cuing: A persisting enigma in memory research. Memory & Cognition, 12, 531–552.
Oswald, K. [M.], Serra, M., & Krishna, A. (2006). Part-list cuing in speeded recognition and free recall. Memory & Cognition, 34, 518–526.
Reysen, M. B., & Nairne, J. S. (2002). Part-set cuing of false memories. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9, 389–393.
Roediger, H. L., III, & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 21, 803–814.
Roediger, H. L., III, Stellon, C. C., & Tulving, E. (1977). Inhibition from part-list cues and rate of recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory, 3, 174–188.
Roediger, H. L., III, Watson, J. M., McDermott, K. B., & Gallo, D. A. (2001). Factors that determine false recall: A multiple regression analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8, 385–407.
Rundus, D. (1973). Negative effects of using list items as recall cues. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 12, 43–50.
Thapar, A., & McDermott, K. B. (2001). False recall and false recognition induced by presentation of associated words: Effects of retention interval and level of processing. Memory & Cognition, 29, 424–432.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by National Institutes of Health Research Grant MH079357 and Training Grant NS07292.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kimball, D.R., Bjork, E.L., Bjork, R.A. et al. Part-list cuing and the dynamics of false recall. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 15, 296–301 (2008). https://doi.org/10.3758/PBR.15.2.296
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/PBR.15.2.296