Recognition memory: The probe, the returned signal, and the decision.

Abstract

In an attempt to better understand recognition memory we look at how three approaches (dual processing, signal detection, and global matching) have addressed the probe, the returned signal and the decision in four recognition paradigms. These are single-item recognition (including the remember/know paradigm), recognition in relational context, associative recognition, and source monitoring. The contrast, with regards to the double-miss rate (the probability of recognizing neither item in intact and rearranged pairs) and the effect of the oldness of the other member of the test pair, between identifying the old words in test pairs (the relational context paradigm) and first identifying the intact test pairs and then identifying the old words (adding associative recognition to the relational context paradigm) suggests that the retrieval of associative information in the relational context paradigm is unintentional, unlike the retrieval of associative information in associative recognition. It also seems possible that the information that is spontaneously retrieved in single-item recognition, possibly including the remember/know paradigm, is also unintentional, unlike the retrieval of information in source monitoring. Probable differences between intentional and unintentional retrieval, together with the pattern of effects with regards to the double-miss rate and the effect of the other member of the test pair, are used to evaluate the three approaches. Our conclusion is that all three approaches have something valid to say about recognition, but none is equally applicable across all four paradigms.