Remember-Know and Source Memory Instructions Can Qualitatively Change Old-New Recognition Accuracy: The Modality-Match Effect in Recognition Memory

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition memory, and cognition, 2010-03, Vol.36 (2), p.558-566
• Main Authors: Mulligan, Neil W, Besken, Miri, Peterson, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Acoustic Stimulation - methods; Association Learning; Attention - physiology; Auditory Stimuli; Bias; Biological and medical sciences; Dual Process Models; Experimental psychology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Judgment - physiology; Learning. Memory; Memory; Neuropsychological Tests; Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology; Photic Stimulation - methods; Psycholinguistics; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reaction Time - physiology; Recall; Recognition; Recognition (Learning); Recognition (Psychology); Recognition (Psychology) - physiology; Responses; Retention (Psychology) - physiology; Semantics; Students; Task Analysis; Tests; Undergraduate Students; Universities; Visual Stimuli; Vocabulary; Word Frequency
• ISSN: 0278-7393; 1939-1285
• DOI: 10.1037/a0018408

Remember-Know (RK) and source memory tasks were designed to elucidate processes underlying memory retrieval. As part of more complex judgments, both tests produce a measure of old-new recognition, which is typically treated as equivalent to that derived from a standard recognition task. The present study demonstrates, however, that recognition accuracy can be qualitatively changed by a RK or source-retrieval orientation. Visual and auditory presentations of words were varied at encoding and at test. The memory test was either a standard (old-new) recognition test, the RK test, or a source (modality) test. No effect of modality match was found on standard recognition. However, recognition accuracy in the RK and modality tests was greater when study and test modalities matched-a result obtained for both 1-step (e.g., R, K, or new?) and 2-step (e.g., old-new decision followed by RK decision for items judged old) versions of these tests. Thus, the RK and source (modality) memory procedures produced a measure of old-new recognition that was qualitatively different than standard recognition, having a greater sensitivity to perceptual information.