The effect of typicality and retention interval on discriminative memory for instruments

Abstract

Abstract Subjects read single sentences that referred either to typical or atypical instruments used to perform some action, or that made no reference to instruments. In recognition memory tests after either 5 or 10 minutes delay, hit rate for typical and atypical instruments did not differ, but discriminative memory was poorer for typical instruments. Latency was slower to inferred or guessed instruments (false alarms) than to explicitly mentioned typical and atypical instruments (hits). In recall tests, correct responses and discriminative memory were better for typical than for atypical instruments after delays of both 10 minutes and 3 days. Response latencies were slower for false alarms than for correct responses at a 10-minute delay, but there was no difference after a 3-day delay. The results demonstrate the role of schema in memory for single sentences, and support a model of memory that incorporates a separate representation of explicitly presented and inferred typical information.