Awareness of Recognition Memory for Polish and English Folk Songs in Polish and English Folk

Abstract

Polish and English people listened either once or three times to excerpts from Polish and English folk songs before being given a recognition test in which, when recognising an excerpt, they had to report whether they remembered hearing it, knew they had heard it, or guessed they had heard it. Both Polish and English people remembered more of the excerpts from their own folk songs, and they remembered more of the excerpts they heard three times rather than once, regardless of the national background of the songs. They also knew they had heard more of the excerpts they heard three times, but only if they were from the other folk's songs. Repetition did not affect knowing songs from one's own national background. These findings confirm and extend previous findings suggesting that remembering and knowing are functionally independent states of awareness.