Word type effects in false recall: Concrete, abstract, and emotion word critical lures

Previous research has demonstrated that definable qualities of verbal stimuli have implications for memory. For example, the distinction between concrete and abstract words has led to the finding that concrete words have an advantage in memory tasks (i.e., the concreteness effect). However, other wo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of psychology 2009-12, Vol.122 (4), p.469-481
Main Authors: BAUER, LISA M., OLHEISER, ERIK L., ALTARRIBA, JEANETTE, LANDI, NICOLE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abstract words
Analysis
Analysis of Variance
Association Learning
Biological and medical sciences
Children's memory
Cognition
Concept Formation
Effects
Emotional distress
Emotional states
Emotional words
Emotionality
Emotions
Experimental psychology
False memories
False memory
False recall
Fear
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Happiness
Human
Humans
Learning. Memory
Memories
Memory
Memory in children
Mental Recall
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Recall
Recall (Memory)
Recollection (Psychology)
Recovered memory (Psychology)
Semantics
Social Sciences
Studies
Words
Young Adult
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Summary:Previous research has demonstrated that definable qualities of verbal stimuli have implications for memory. For example, the distinction between concrete and abstract words has led to the finding that concrete words have an advantage in memory tasks (i.e., the concreteness effect). However, other word types, such as words that label specific human emotions, may also affect memory processes. This study examined the effects of word type on the production of false memories by using a list-learning false memory paradigm. Participants heard lists of words that were highly associated to nonpresented concrete, abstract, or emotion words (i.e., the critical lures) and then engaged in list recall. Emotion word critical lures were falsely recalled at a significantly higher rate (with the effect carried by the positively valenced critical lures) than concrete and abstract critical lures. These findings suggest that the word type variable has implications for our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie recall and false recall.
ISSN:0002-9556
1939-8298
DOI:10.2307/27784422