Measuring phantom recollection in the simplified conjoint recognition paradigm

Abstract

False memories are sometimes strong enough to elicit recollective experiences. This phenomenon has been termed Phantom Recollection (PR). The Conjoint Recognition (CR) paradigm has been used to empirically separate PR from other memory processes. Recently, a simplification of the CR procedure has been proposed. We herein extend the simplified CR paradigm to the measurement of PR by including an additional parameter. Two experiments in the simplified CR paradigm were conducted in which participants studied lists of items that converge on a single semantic associate. PR was obtained for lists from which eight items were presented but not for lists from which a single item was presented. In addition, new evidence for the validity of the guessing processes in the simplified CR paradigm is reported. These findings support the validity and usefulness of the simplified CR model as a measurement tool for processes of veridical and false memory.