The effects of familiarity, imagery, and delay on recognition memory for noun pairs

Abstract

Abstract Pairs of nouns comprising familiar or unfamiliar associations were learned by rote or with visual imagery. Signal detection measures obtained from immediate or delayed recognition tests showed associations learned with imagery were better remembered than those learned by rote, but that retention of familiar associations was no better than that of unfamiliar associations. Although retention declined with delay this did not interact either with familiarity or with method of learning. False alarms were higher for familiar associations in all conditions, but Ss who learned with imagery showed fewer false alarms than did rote learners, although the decline in hits over the delay was similar for both groups. This suggests that associations learned by rote or with imagery are unlearned at the same rate, but that imagery is more effective than rote learning in reducing competition from irrelevant responses.