False Recognition Paradigm Research Articles

Attention allocation is a possible mediator of cultural variations in spontaneous trait and situation inferences: Eye-tracking evidence

Two studies sought to replicate previous work on cultural differences in the co-occurrence of spontaneous trait (STI) and situation (SSI) inferences, and to examine possible mediators at the individual level. Both studies replicated previous findings of cultural differences. European Americans made more STIs relative to SSIs than did Asian American or Japanese participants. However Experiment 1 found no evidence from the Analysis-Holism Scale (AHS) that self-reported cognitive style mediates this effect, although expected cultural differences on the AHS did occur. Experiment 2 found strong evidence that a bias in overt visual attention to actors relative to situations at encoding, measured with an eye-tracker, does predict a bias in STIs relative to SSIs. It also showed expected cultural differences in overt visual attention bias to actors relative to situations. These divergent results should sharpen conceptions of the role of holistic versus analytic cognition in the cross-cultural literature. They also provide the first evidence of possible mediators of STI and SSI within the false recognition paradigm. The role of visual attention in the production of perceptual and cognitive inferences is discussed.

Spontaneous goal versus spontaneous trait inferences: How ideology shapes attributions and explanations

AbstractPast research documented liberals’ greater tendency than conservatives to take situational determinants of others’ actions into account when forming causal attributions, and conservatives’ greater tendency to seek consistency. We hypothesize that liberals (vs. conservatives) should be more likely to make spontaneous goal inferences (SGIs). Conservatives, however, should tend to implicitly infer invariant rather than variant characteristics from others’ behaviors, drawing spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) rather than SGIs. Experiment 1 and 2 supported those hypotheses by illustrating differences in the type of implicit inferences formed by liberals and conservatives in a false recognition paradigm common to the STI literature. Experiment 3 revealed similar differences in conservatives’ and liberals’ goal and trait inferences when making open‐ended causal explanations for others’ actions.

Differentiating the effects of anger and sadness: A perspective of spontaneous trait inference.

In the present research, three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of anger and sadness on spontaneous trait inferences (STIs). Using a probe recognition paradigm, Experiment 1 revealed that angry participants made more errors in response to probes following trait-implying behaviours than sad participants did. Using a false recognition paradigm, Experiments 2 and 3 revealed that angry participants made more errors in response to systematic pair trials than sad participants did. The three experiments provided convergent evidence that angry individuals were more inclined to form STIs than sad individuals were. The current research first demonstrated the different effects of specific negative mood states (anger vs. sadness) on STIs, providing further insight into the relationship between mood and STIs.

Spontaneous Trait Inferences on Social Media

The present research investigates whether spontaneous trait inferences occur under conditions characteristic of social media and networking sites: nonextreme, ostensibly self-generated content, simultaneous presentation of multiple cues, and self-paced browsing. We used an established measure of trait inferences (false recognition paradigm) and a direct assessment of impressions. Without being asked to do so, participants spontaneously formed impressions of people whose status updates they saw. Our results suggest that trait inferences occurred from nonextreme self-generated content, which is commonly found in social media updates (Experiment 1) and when nine status updates from different people were presented in parallel (Experiment 2). Although inferences did occur during free browsing, the results suggest that participants did not necessarily associate the traits with the corresponding status update authors (Experiment 3). Overall, the findings suggest that spontaneous trait inferences occur on social media. We discuss implications for online communication and research on spontaneous trait inferences.

The development of spontaneous trait inferences about the actor and spontaneous trait transferences about the informant: Evidence from children aged 8-13 years

In social-cognitive research, little attention has been paid to the developmental course of spontaneous trait inferences about the actor (STIs about the actor) and spontaneous trait transferences about the informant (STTs about the informant). Using a false recognition paradigm, Study 1 investigated the developmental course of STIs and Study 2 investigated the developmental course of STTs, comparing 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-, 12- and 13-year olds. The results of Study 1 showed that 8-year olds could make STIs about the actor, and the magnitude of STIs increased from ages 8 to 10 years, stabilised at the age of 10, 11, 12 years, and decreased from ages 12 through 13 years. The results of Study 2 showed that 8-year olds could make STTs about the informant, and the magnitude of STTs did not vary with age. In all age groups, the magnitude of STIs about the actor was greater than that of STTs about the informant.

The effects of mood on spontaneous trait inferences about the actor: Evidence from Chinese undergraduates.

Prior research has indicated that positive moods increase but negative moods decrease the trait activation of spontaneous trait inferences (STIs). However, it is unknown whether this difference is also present in STIs about the actor. In Study 1, using a false recognition paradigm, we found that Chinese undergraduates made STIs about the actor. In Study 2, we found that the happy Chinese undergraduates were more likely to make STIs about the actor than the sad Chinese undergraduates. These findings showed that Chinese people made STIs about the actor and moods had an influence on their STIs about the actor.

Thinking About Other People

Three experiments examined whether people spontaneously generate evaluations of target individuals under circumstances in which they are also known to generate spontaneous trait inferences (STIs). The first experiment used a standard savings-in-relearning paradigm to explore whether exposure to trait-implicative behavior descriptions facilitates the learning of evaluatively-congruent, as well as behavior-implied, personality traits. Evidence for the facilitated learning of evaluatively-congruent traits was not obtained. This led to a second experiment in which the savings-in-relearning paradigm was altered to directly assess participants’ relearning of evaluative words (good/bad). The results demonstrated that the same trait-implicative behavioral stimuli can produce both spontaneous trait inferences and spontaneous evaluations when both are measured correctly. Both of these outcomes were replicated in a third study using a false recognition paradigm. The implications of these findings for impression formation processes and for the possible independence of semantic information and evaluative information are discussed.

Amnesiacs might get the gist: Reduced false recognition in amnesia may be the result of impaired item-specific memory

It is a common finding in tests of false recognition that amnesic patients recognize fewer related lures than healthy controls, and this has led to assumptions that gist memory is damaged in these patients (Schacter, Verfaellie, & Anes, 1997, Neuropsychology, 11; Schacter, Verfaellie, Anes, & Racine, 1998, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 10; Schacter, Verfaellie, & Pradere, 1996, Journal of Memory and Language, 35). However, clinical observations find that amnesic patients typically hold meaningful conversations and make relevant remarks, and there is some experimental evidence highlighting preserved immediate recall of prose (Baddeley & Wilson, 2002, Neuropsychologia, 40; Gooding, Isaac, & Mayes, 2005, Neuropsychologia, 43; Rosenbaum, Gilboa, Levine, Winocur, & Moscovitch, 2009, Neuropsychologia, 47), which suggests that amnesiacs can get the gist. The present experiment used false recognition paradigms to assess whether the reduced rate of false recognition found in amnesic patients may be a consequence of their impaired item-specific memory. It examined the effect of increasing the item-specific memory of amnesic patient DA by bringing her to criterion on relevant study-lists and compared her performance on a false recognition paradigm with a group of 32 healthy young adults. Results indicated that when DA’s item-specific memory was increased she was more able to gist and her performance was no different to the healthy young adults. Previous assumptions that gist memory is necessarily damaged in amnesia might therefore be revisited, since the reduced rate of false recognition could be caused by impaired item-specific memory. The experiment also highlights a positive relationship between item-specific and gist memory which has not previously been accounted for in false-recognition experiments.

A right hemisphere bias towards false memory

We extend to English Ito's (2001) demonstration of a hemispheric asymmetry in a false recognition and list-learning paradigm in Japanese. We show for English a significant interaction between the hemifield to which the probe word was presented and the probe type (non-studied but semantically related to the studied words versus non-studied and semantically unrelated to the studied words). The right hemisphere performed less well in rejecting the semantically related “lures”; the left hemisphere performed better in rejecting the semantically novel unstudied words. We discuss the results in terms of a model of fine semantic coding in the LH and coarse semantic coding in the RH, together with the dependence on memory probes that retain the representational signature of the hemisphere to which they were initially projected. Sex of the participants was also included as an independent variable; the results suggested that most of the effect lay with the female participants.

Hemispheric Asymmetries in Memory Processes as Measured in a False Recognition Paradigm

Although memory differs in important ways between the left and right cerebral hemispheres, the nature of these differences remains controversial. We examined this issue in two experiments using a false memory paradigm that allowed novel tests of two theories that have not been assessed in a common paradigm previously. Lists of semantically related words (e.g., bed, rest, wake…), all highly associated to one “critical” word (e.g., sleep), were presented auditorily during a study phase. Memory for both the related words and the critical words was measured in a subsequent old/new recognition test using divided-visual- field word presentations. The most important results were that the ability to correctly reject previously unpresented words was greater when test items were presented to the right visual field/left hemisphere (RVF/LH) than to the left visual field/right hemisphere (LVF/RH) and that participants were more confident in correctly rejecting unpresented words when test items were presented to the RVF/LH than to the LVF/RH. Results were in line with the theory that associative activation of semantic information is restricted in the left hemisphere but diffuse in the right; however, these results contrasted with the theory that memory traces are interpretive in the left hemisphere but veridical in the right. A potential resolution to the seemingly contradictory theories of asymmetries in memory processing is briefly discussed.

Spontaneous trait inferences are bound to actors' faces: Evidence from a false recognition paradigm.

A false recognition paradigm showed that spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) are bound to the person performing a trait-implying behavior. In 6 experiments, participants memorized faces and behavioral sentences. When faces were paired with implied traits in a recognition test, participants falsely recognized these traits more often than unrelated traits paired with the same faces or the same traits paired with familiar faces. The effect was obtained for a large set of behaviors (120). each presented for 5 s, and for behaviors that participants did not subsequently recognize or recall. Antonyms of the implied traits were falsely recognized less often than unrelated traits, suggesting that STIs have extended implications. Explicit person-trait judgments predicted both false recognition and response times for implied traits.

Spontaneous trait inferences are bound to actors' faces: Evidence from a false recognition paradigm.

Spontaneous trait inferences are bound to actors' faces: Evidence from a false recognition paradigm.

Hemispheric asymmetry in the induction of false memories

The purpose of this study was to investigate hemispheric asymmetry in verbal memory by using a false recognition paradigm and a standard list learning paradigm, which can induce high false recognition for semantically related distractors. The experiment showed that the LH could discriminate the targets from the related distractors more accurately than the RH. This result was attributed to the hemispheric difference in the hit rate rather than in false recognition. The results of the present study suggest that the model of RH coarse semantic coding and LH fine semantic coding is applicable not only to language processing but also to verbal memory.

Alcohol and false recognition: a dose-effect study.

The pattern of acute memory impairment produced by alcohol is similar to that produced by the benzodiazepines. However, in contrast to demonstrations that benzodiazepines decrease false recognition rates, results of a recent study suggest that a low dose of alcohol increases false recognition rates; false recognition refers to the phenomenon of mistakenly claiming that one has been exposed previously to a novel item. This study was designed to examine the acute dose-effects of alcohol on false recognition. Effects of alcohol (0.27 and 0.60 g/kg) on performance in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott false recognition paradigm were examined in a repeated measures placebo-controlled double-blind design in 18 healthy volunteers. The 0.60 g/kg dose of alcohol significantly reduced true recognition rates (measured by hit rate) and induced a more conservative response bias (measured by C) relative to placebo; however, neither alcohol dose significantly impaired participants' sensitivity in discriminating between old and new words (d'). Neither alcohol dose affected false recognition rates. Effects of alcohol on false recognition and on response bias may differ from those observed previously with benzodiazepines. A direct comparison at equivalent doses will be necessary to draw conclusions about qualitative differences between alcohol and benzodiazepines.

False Recognition in Triazolam-Induced Amnesia

Acute administration of the benzodiazepine hypnotic drug triazolam (Halcion) induces temporary amnesia. The present double-blind, placebo-controlled repeated-measures study using the Deese (1959)/Roediger-McDermott (1995) false recognition paradigm examined triazolam's (0.25 mg/70 kg) interaction with two variables, both designed to decrease false recognition rates under nondrug conditions, but via different mechanisms. As predicted, an interaction between drug condition and number of study presentations (Experiment 1; N = 18) was observed such that participants exhibited decreased false recognition rates for twice- vs. once-presented lists in the placebo condition but increased false recognition rates for twice- vs. once-presented lists in the triazolam condition. In contrast, as predicted, parallel effects of number of studied associates (Experiment 2; N = 18) as a function of drug condition were observed such that participants exhibited decreased false recognition rates for 6- vs. 15-associate lists in both placebo and triazolam conditions. These results suggest that triazolam-treated participants rely primarily on gist-based memory mechanisms and are unable to use item-specific memory mechanisms to suppress false recognition.

Remembering words not presented in lists: Can we avoid creating false memories?

Can subjects avoid creating false memories as outlined in Roediger and McDermott's (1995) false recognition paradigm if they are forewarned about this memory illusion? We presented subjects with semantically related word lists, followed by a recognition test. The test was composed of studied words, semantically related nonstudied words (critical lures), and unrelated nonstudied words. One group of subjects was uninformed about the false recognition effect, a second group was urged to minimize all false alarms, and a third group was forewarned about falsely recognizing critical lures. Compared with the uninformed and cautious subjects, the forewarned subjects reduced their false alarm rate for critical lures, and they made remember and know judgments equally often for recognized studied words and critical lures. But forewarning did not eliminate the false recognition effect, as these subjects and those in the other groups made numerous false recognitions in this task.

Abstracts

Acute administration of the benzodiazepine hypnotic drug triazolam (Halcion) induces temporary amnesia. The present double-blind, placebo-controlled repeated-measures study using the Deese (1959)/Roediger-McDermott (1995) false recognition paradigm examined triazolam's (0.25 mg/70 kg) interaction with two variables, both designed to decrease false recognition rates under nondrug conditions, but via different mechanisms. As predicted, an interaction between drug condition and number of study presentations (Experiment 1; N = 18) was observed such that participants exhibited decreased false recognition rates for twice- vs. once-presented lists in the placebo condition but increased false recognition rates for twice- vs. once-presented lists in the triazolam condition. In contrast, as predicted, parallel effects of number of studied associates (Experiment 2; N = 18) as a function of drug condition were observed such that participants exhibited decreased false recognition rates for 6- vs. 15-associate lists in both placebo and triazolam conditions. These results suggest that triazolam-treated participants rely primarily on gist-based memory mechanisms and are unable to use item-specific memory mechanisms to suppress false recognition.

Developmental effects of blocked vs. random input of taxonomically related words in a false recognition paradigm

Recognition memory for taxonomically related words was investigated in second- and fifth-grade children. Forty children were presented with a list of 36 words consisting of nine categories. One half of the subjects received the list in random order, the other half blocked by category. At test, each input item was accompanied by a taxonomically related and an unrelated foil. Blocking reduced the number of errors to unrelated foils for both age groups but reduced errors to related foils only for second-grade children, thus eliminating an age effect present in the random input condition. Younger children are as aware as older ones of the taxonomic structure but are less likely to remember the individual items within a category when words are presented in random order. Blocking by category increases category awareness at both ages and retention of individual items for second graders.

Problems with a false recognition paradigm for developmental memory research

Developmental changes in memory organization based on synonym and antonym relationships were examined in three experiments. Although Cramer (1973) claimed that second-grade children organized their memory for words based on synonym relationships while sixth-graders used antonyms, no support for this interaction was found. The present studies employed additional procedures in an attempt to replicate and extend Cramer's finding. Some inadequacies of a false recognition paradigm for developmental research are identified and some alternative analyses are proposed.