Final Recall Test Research Articles

Retrieval dynamics in resolving relational inconsistency during verbal analogical reasoning.

Reasoning about verbal analogies requires selective retrieval of relevant relational information. A consequence of this may be that inhibitory processes in memory cause reduced recall of information associated with analogy-irrelevant relations. The current experiments apply the retrieval-induced forgetting framework to investigate the potential role of such inhibitory processes in analogical reasoning. Participants studied verbal analogies in A-B :: C-D form. Then, half of the A-B pairs from the study phase appeared in verbal analogy problems but with a new C term (A-B :: C-?), and half the items did not appear in verbal analogy problems. A final recall test was then administered for all the original analogies. When the new C term in the analogical reasoning phase conveyed a new relation that was inconsistent with the original relation, reduced recall for items appearing in analogies was observed (Experiment 1). However, when the new C term conveyed a relation that was consistent with the original relation, no forgetting effect was observed (Experiment 1). This forgetting effect occurred even when a hint of the original relation was provided at final recall (Experiment 2). These results indicate that reasoning about analogies may involve inhibitory processes that help reduce competition among competing relations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

State Mindfulness and Misinformation Susceptibility.

Two experiments examined whether brief mindful meditation exercises and belief in task utility impacted memory in the misinformation paradigm. Participants watched a fictionalized crime video, received post-event misinformation about the video, and completed a cued recall memory test. They were randomly assigned to complete either a brief mindfulness exercise or unrelated task prior to encoding the video (E1) or prior to the final cued recall test (E2). Further, half of the participants in each group were informed that their assigned task was beneficial to memory performance. In Experiment 1, information about task benefits reduced misinformation reports on the final recall test, regardless of the task. The brief mindfulness exercise increased self-reported mindfulness scores in both experiments. While no group differences in memory were found, correlational analyses across the two experiments suggest that individuals who achieve more intense states of mindfulness may have lower susceptibility to misinformation and better event memory when meditation occurs prior to encoding. The results suggest that brief mindfulness exercises can reliably increase state experiences of mindfulness and have potential for use as experimental manipulations. However, the intensity of a self-guided mindfulness experience can vary across individuals, so it is important to consider individual differences when considering the application of the exercises.

The testing effect with free recall: Organization, attention, and order effects

Memory retrieval not only reveals but can also change memory, as shown by direct and indirect (e.g., forward) testing effects. Three experiments examined the testing effect with free recall, with respect to attention, organization and forward testing effects. In Experiment 1, participants learned two categorized word lists, one followed by retrieval practice and the other by restudy; memory for both lists was assessed on a final free recall test two days later. Retrieval practice and restudy were conducted under full attention (FA) or divided attention (DA). Final recall was significantly diminished by DA in the restudy but not retrieval condition, indicating that the encoding consequences of retrieval are relatively resistant to distraction. However, a negative testing effect was found on final recall (in the FA condition). Experiments 2 and 3 implemented a between-subjects version of the experiment (FA condition only) in which both learning blocks were in the retrieval or restudy condition. Final recall now exhibited a positive testing effect. Analyses of the order of learning blocks revealed strong forward-testing effects in which the study list following the retrieval block produced superior final recall, a benefit accruing to the restudy condition in the within-subject design (Experiment 1) and to the retrieval condition in the between-subjects design (Experiments 2 and 3). In contrast, no direct testing effects were found on the first list, a result analyzed in terms of prior research that often conflated forward and direct testing effects. Finally, retrieval practice generally did not impact organization (as measured by category clustering on the final recall test), indicating that the organization effect found in earlier research may not be readily replicated.

Retrieval Practice Enhances New Learning but does Not Affect Performance in Subsequent Arithmetic Tasks.

The forward testing effect is an indirect benefit of retrieval practice. It refers to the finding that retrieval practice of previously studied information enhances learning and retention of subsequently studied other information in episodic memory tasks. Here, two experiments were conducted that investigated whether retrieval practice influences participants’ performance in other tasks, i.e., arithmetic tasks. Participants studied three lists of words in anticipation of a final recall test. In the testing condition, participants were immediately tested on lists 1 and 2 after study of each list, whereas in the restudy condition, they restudied lists 1 and 2 after initial study. Before and after study of list 3, participants did an arithmetic task. Finally, participants were tested on list 3, list 2, and list 1. Different arithmetic tasks were used in the two experiments. Participants did a modular arithmetic task in Experiment 1a and a single-digit multiplication task in Experiment 1b. The results of both experiments showed a forward testing effect with interim testing of lists 1 and 2 enhancing list 3 recall in the list 3 recall test, but no effects of recall testing of lists 1 and 2 for participants’ performance in the arithmetic tasks. The findings are discussed with respect to cognitive load theory and current theories of the forward testing effect.

Aging Does Not Enhance Social Contagion Effect.

Studies on the social contagion of memory show that it is possible to create false memories from the wrong responses from other people without requiring their physical presence. The current study examined age differences between false memories via the modified social contagion paradigm. Twenty older and twenty younger adults were shown six household scenes and were exposed to the erroneous memory reports of an implied confederate who was not physically present. The presentation time of the scenes and the typicality of the contagion items were manipulated. The participants watched each scene individually and then took turns giving their recall responses with the responses belonging to a fictional participant provided by written cards. The results in a final individual recall test indicated a significant contagion effect in both groups of participants. Additionally, an effect of the typicality of the contagion items was observed, such that the more typical items produced more contagion than the less typical items. In relation to true recall, the older adults remembered significantly fewer items from the scenes than the younger ones and obtained a lower score in the word list subtest of the Weschler Memory Scale. Although the older group had an episodic memory deficit, they were not more susceptible to being affected by the wrong responses of other people than younger group.

M77. USE OF TESTING TO IMPROVE LONG-TERM MEMORY RECALL IN PEOPLE WITH PSYCHOSIS

BackgroundRather than solely assessing participant knowledge, memory tests can also facilitate long-term storage and retrieval, thereby improving episodic memory for newly studied information compared to having participants spend equal amounts of time re-studying that same information. This so called “testing effect” has been widely promoted in educational settings as a way to improve delayed recall of new information but, to our knowledge, has not been investigated as a way to improve memory in people with psychotic disorders. The goal of this study is to determine if the testing effect can be used to improve well-documented deficits in delayed recall in people with early psychosis spectrum disorders.MethodsIn this within-subjects design, 20 people within 5 years of onset of a psychosis spectrum disorder (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder) and 13 demographically matched healthy controls were studied at two time points. During the first visit, a three-part 45-minute PowerPoint presentation on “what is?”, “what causes?” and “how do we treat?” psychosis was presented in small group settings. After each of the 3 parts of the presentation participants were required to re-study half of the information that had just been presented and were tested on the other half of the presented information. This re-study/test procedure was repeated again a second time to promote learning and participants were instructed to return again in one week for final testing. During the second visit participants were given a final recall test on all the information included in the original presentation. Percent recall scores were examined for main effects of group, practice procedure (re-study/test) and group by procedure interactions using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). To account for any group differences in overall recall, a Testing Effect score was also calculated by dividing the difference in recall for information that had been tested versus restudied, by the average recall across the two conditions.ResultsAll participants understood the task and completed both sessions. Reflecting the overall testing effect, ANOVA revealed a main effect of task [F(1,31)=8.2, p<.01)] with all participants showing better percent recall after one week for information that had been tested (Mean+SD=47.2 + 14.0) versus re-studied (Mean+SD=34.1 + 14.8) during their first visit. There was also a main effect of group [F(1,31)= 8.1, p<.01], and a task by group interaction [F(1,31)=4.3, p<.05]. To further investigate this interaction, the Testing Effect score was examined, which did not reveal any group difference [t(32)=.35, p=.73] in the percent recall improvement following testing versus re-study between patients (Mean+SD=36.6 + 45.2) and controls (Mean+SD=41.5 + 32.0).DiscussionWhen group differences in overall memory performance are accounted for, initial results suggest that people with psychotic disorders show the same benefit from being tested on recently studied information as do healthy participants. Simply testing patients on new information versus having them spend the same amount of time re-studying that information led to the same improvement in free recall following a one-week delay as what was seen in healthy volunteers. These results support further investigation of how the testing effect might be incorporated into cognitive remediation efforts as well as future neuroimaging studies to identify neural correlates of this positive outcome.

EEG beta power increase indicates inhibition in motor memory

Beta power increase has been suggested to be an electrophysiological marker of response inhibition during voluntary action stopping. We examined whether beta power increase accompanies inhibition in human motor memory, focusing the phenomenon of retrieval-induced forgetting that has been assumed to be the consequence of inhibition in memory. Whereas most studies on this effect comprise word materials, a variant of the retrieval-induced-forgetting paradigm exists for examining motor memory. In the present study, we recorded scalp EEG during this motor-specific variant and examined EEG oscillatory correlates of retrieval-induced slowing of motor actions. Here, forgetting occurred in the form of significant slowing when executing motor sequences in a final recall test. Participants first learned to associate memory cues to sequential finger movements, half of which were performed with the left hand and half with the right hand. They then selectively retrieval-practiced half of the items of one hand before finally memory for all items was tested. On a behavioral level, selective retrieval practice induced slower execution of the non-retrieved items of the retrieval-practiced hand in a final memory test. On a physiological level, this retrieval-induced-slowing effect was predicted by an increase of EEG beta power during retrieval practice. The results suggest that motor retrieval-induced forgetting is a consequence of inhibition in human memory.

Protective effects of testing across misinformation formats in the household scene paradigm.

Many studies have demonstrated retrieval-enhanced suggestibility (RES), in which taking an initial recall test after witnessing an event increases suggestibility to subsequent misinformation introduced via a narrative. Recently, however, initial testing has been found to have a protective effect against misinformation introduced via cued-recall questions. We examined whether misinformation format (narrative vs. cued-recall questions) yields a similar dissociation in a paradigm that, to date, has consistently yielded a protective effect of testing (PET). After studying photos of household scenes (e.g., kitchen), some participants took an initial recall test. After a 48-hr delay, items not presented in the scenes (e.g., knives/plates) were suggested either via narrative or questions. Regardless of the misinformation format, we found a PET on both initial-test-conditionalised free recall and source-monitoring tests. However, initial testing also yielded memory costs, such that suggested items reported on the initial test were likely to persist on a final recall test. Thus, initial testing can protect against suggestibility, but can also precipitate memory errors when intrusions emerge on an initial test.

Retrieval practice decreases processing load of recall: Evidence revealed by pupillometry

Retrieval practice is an effective long-term learning strategy. Items practiced through repeated retrieval are resistant to interference, stress, and secondary load, which attributes also characterize automatization in skill learning. In two experiments, we investigated whether retrieval practice is associated with decrease in processing load, which is a further attribute of automatization. Participants first learned paired associates, and then they practiced the items either by repeatedly studying or engaging in retrieval practice. Then their memory was assessed after either five minutes (Experiment 1) or one week (Experiment 2). Processing load was measured by assessing task-evoked pupil dilation during both retrieval practice and later recall. The pattern of results was similar in both experiments. During retrieval practice, processing load decreased during consecutive practice cycles. Moreover, during the final recall test, the retrieval of previously retrieval practiced items required less processing resources, as compared to the retrieval of previously restudied items. Our results suggest that repeated retrieval reduces processing load as well as attentional control involvement during practice and later recall.

Opposite effect of motivated forgetting on sleep spindles during stage 2 and slow wave sleep.

Memories selectively benefit from sleep. In addition to the importance of the consolidation of relevant memories, the capacity to forget unwanted memories is also crucial. We investigated the effect of suppressing unwanted memories on electroencephalography activity of subsequent sleep using a motivated forgetting (MF) paradigm as compared with a control non-forgetting task. Subjects were randomly assigned to nap or no-nap groups. We used a modified version of the think/no-think paradigm with dominant number of no-think words cued to be forgotten and included only subjects capable of suppressing unwanted memories by performing an initial subject inclusion experiment. In both groups and conditions, the performance of the subjects in recalling the word pairs learned in the beginning of the day was evaluated in a final recall test. We found that both nap and no-nap groups recalled significantly less no-think words in the MF condition compared to the control condition. Moreover, for the nap group, in the MF compared to the control condition, spindle power and density increased during stage 2 (S2) whereas they decreased during slow wave sleep (SWS). Interestingly, recall performance of no-think words was negatively correlated with spindle power during S2 whereas it was positively correlated with spindle power during SWS. These results indicate that sleep spindles are sensitive to the previous MF experiences and suggest a differential role of sleep spindles during S2 and SWS in memory processing during sleep.

Verbal long-term memory is enhanced by retrieval practice but impaired by prefrontal direct current stimulation

Retrieval practice involves repeatedly testing a student during the learning experience, reliably conferring learning advantages relative to repeated study. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) has also been shown to confer learning advantages for verbal memory, though research is equivocal. The present study examined the effects of retrieval versus study practice with or without left dlPFC tDCS on verbal episodic memory. Participants (N = 150) experienced either retrieval practice or study practice, and active anodal, active cathodal, or sham tDCS while encoding word lists, and then returned two days later for a final recall test. Three primary patterns emerged: first, during encoding, tDCS did not influence recall rates in the retrieval practice group. Second, during final recall, participants in the retrieval practice groups recalled more than those in the study practice groups. Finally, during final recall, anodal tDCS decreased recall relative to sham and cathodal stimulation, suggesting that it interfered with developing highly detailed memories that could be relied upon for subsequent recollection. Data support existing research demonstrating the effectiveness of retrieval practice as a learning strategy, but also suggest that anodal dlPFC stimulation can induce long-term negative impacts on verbal episodic memory retrieval.

Retrieval-induced forgetting is retrieval-modality specific: Evidence from motor memory

Three experiments examined the impact of matching retrieval modality at retrieval practice and at test on retrieval-induced forgetting. Participants learned sequential finger movements to be performed either with the left or with the right index finger. Subsequently, they selectively practiced half the items of one hand. A final recall test then assessed memory for all initially learned items. We contrasted different retrieval modalities. In Experiment 1, retrieval practice pertained to motor responses in one experimental condition but it pertained to visual sequence displays in another condition. The final recall test was motoric in both conditions. In Experiment 2, retrieval practice always pertained to visual sequence displays but the final recall test either pertained to motor responses or to visual sequence displays. Retrieval-induced forgetting emerged only when the modality of the final recall test matched the modality of retrieval practice. In Experiment 3, retrieval practice either involved executing motor sequences with the same finger as in the learning phase or participants had to use the opposite hand for indicating sequences. An effector change for retrieval practice eliminated retrieval-induced forgetting in a test requiring the execution of motor sequences again with the same finger as in the learning phase. We suggest that retrieval-induced forgetting occurred as a consequence of retrieval-modality-specific inhibition.

The spacing effect in older and younger adults: does context matter?

ABSTRACTAge-related memory change has been a topic of much investigation in recent years, including spacing benefits and reliance on contextual cues. We manipulated the spacing schedule and the context of learning and observed the effects on long-term recall ability in healthy older and younger adults. After learning Swahili–English word pairs, half practiced immediately (massed) and half practiced 24 h later (spaced) either in the same room or a different room (context) from the initial session. A final recall test 10 days after the practice session occurred in the same room as the first session. Participants in the spaced condition remembered more than those in the massed condition 10 days later. Younger adults remembered more word pairs than older adult participants. Context change eliminated the spacing benefit for both age groups.

Observing the Testing Effect using Coursera Video-Recorded Lectures: A Preliminary Study.

We investigated the testing effect in Coursera video-based learning. One hundred and twenty-three participants either (a) studied an instructional video-recorded lecture four times, (b) studied the lecture three times and took one recall test, or (c) studied the lecture once and took three tests. They then took a final recall test, either immediately or a week later, through which their learning was assessed. Whereas repeated studying produced better recall performance than did repeated testing when the final test was administered immediately, testing produced better performance when the final test was delayed until a week after. The testing effect was observed using Coursera lectures. Future directions are documented.

"Moderate Stress Enhances Immediate and Delayed Retrieval of Educationally Relevant Material in Healthy Young Men": Correction to Hupbach and Fieman (2012).

Reports an error in "Moderate stress enhances immediate and delayed retrieval of educationally relevant material in healthy young men" by Almut Hupbach and Rachel Fieman (Behavioral Neuroscience, 2012[Dec], Vol 126[6], 819-825). In the article there are computational errors in the last sentence of the Memory Performance section. "(M = .30, SD = .11 for CPS, and M = .13, SD = 17 for the warm water control)." should read instead: "(M = .03, SD = .11 for CPS, and M = .13, SD = .17 for the warm water control)." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2012-27908-001.) Retrieval practice is a powerful memory enhancer. However, in educational settings, test taking is often experienced as a stressful event. While it is known that stress can impair retrieval processes, little is known about the delayed consequences of testing memory for educationally relevant material under stressful conditions, which is the focus of the present study. Participants (38 women, 37 men) memorized a scientific text passage on Day 1. On Day 2, they were either exposed to a stressor (cold pressor test; CPS) or a warm water control, and immediately afterward, they were asked to recall the text passage (i.e., retrieval under stress vs. control). Salivary cortisol was measured as an index of the stress response before, and 20 min after the CPS versus control treatment. The delayed effects of testing under stress were assessed with a final recall test on Day 3. In comparison to the control condition, CPS caused significant increases in salivary cortisol, and, surprisingly resulted in enhanced memory in men. Importantly, this enhancement was not only observed in the test that immediately followed the stressor, but also in the delayed test. In women, CPS caused only marginal increases in cortisol concentrations, and retrieval remained unaffected. Our study suggests that moderate stress can improve memory performance for educationally relevant material in a long-lasting manner in healthy young men. (PsycINFO Database Record

Infectious Cognition

When speakers selectively retrieve previously learned information, listeners often concurrently, and covertly, retrieve their memories of that information. This concurrent retrieval typically enhances memory for mentioned information (the rehearsal effect) and impairs memory for unmentioned but related information (socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting, SSRIF), relative to memory for unmentioned and unrelated information. Building on research showing that anxiety leads to increased attention to threat-relevant information, we explored whether concurrent retrieval is facilitated in high-anxiety real-world contexts. Participants first learned category-exemplar facts about meningococcal disease. Following a manipulation of perceived risk of infection (low vs. high risk), they listened to a mock radio show in which some of the facts were selectively practiced. Final recall tests showed that the rehearsal effect was equivalent between the two risk conditions, but SSRIF was significantly larger in the high-risk than in the low-risk condition. Thus, the tendency to exaggerate consequences of news events was found to have deleterious consequences.

How motor practice shapes memory: retrieval but not extra study can cause forgetting

We investigated the retrieval specificity of retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) of motor sequences. In two experiments, participants learned sequential finger movements, each consisting of the movement of two fingers of either the left or the right hand. In the learning phase, these motor sequences were graphically presented and were to be learned as responses to simultaneously presented letter stimuli. Subsequently, participants selectively practiced half the items of one hand. A final recall test then assessed memory for all initially learned items. We contrasted different kinds of selective practice with each other. Whereas retrieval practice required retrieving motor sequences in response to letter stimuli from the learning phase, extra study was an extension of the learning phase, that is, participants performed motor sequences in response to the same animation graphic display as in the learning phase again accompanied by the letter stimulus. All practice conditions strengthened the practiced items, but only retrieval practice resulted in RIF. Thus, the strengthening of items through practice did not suffice to induce forgetting of related motor sequences. Retrieval was a necessary component for practice to shape memory for body movements by impairing the subsequent recall of motor sequences that were related to the practiced motor sequences.

Distracted by Cues for Suppressed Memories

We examined the potential cost of practicing suppression of negative thoughts on subsequent performance in an unrelated task. Cues for previously suppressed and unsuppressed (baseline) responses in a think/no-think procedure were displayed as irrelevant flankers for neutral words to be judged for emotional valence. These critical flankers were homographs with one negative meaning denoted by their paired response during learning. Responses to the targets were delayed when suppression cues (compared with baseline cues and new negative homographs) were used as flankers, but only following direct-suppression instructions and not when benign substitutes had been provided to aid suppression. On a final recall test, suppression-induced forgetting following direct suppression and the flanker task was positively correlated with the flanker effect. Experiment 2 replicated these findings. Finally, valence ratings of neutral targets were influenced by the valence of the flankers but not by the prior role of the negative flankers.

The influence of graphotactic knowledge on adults' learning of spelling.

Three experiments investigated whether and how the learning of spelling by French university students is influenced by the graphotactic legitimacy of the spellings. Participants were exposed to three types of novel spellings: AB, which do not contain doublets (e.g., guprane); AAB, with a doublet before a single consonant, which is legitimate in French (e.g., gupprane); and ABB, with a doublet after a single consonant, which is illegitimate (e.g., guprrane). In Experiment 1, the nonwords were embedded within texts that participants read for meaning. In Experiment 2, participants read the nonwords in isolation, with or without instruction to memorize their spellings; they copied the nonwords in Experiment 3. In all of these conditions, AB and AAB spellings were learned more readily than ABB spellings. Although participants were highly knowledgeable about the illegitimacy of ABB spellings, the orthographic distinctiveness of these spellings did not make them easier to recall than legitimate spellings. When recalling ABB spellings, participants sometimes made transposition errors, doubling the wrong consonant of a cluster (e.g., spelling gupprane instead of guprrane). Participants almost never transposed the doubling for AAB items. Transposition errors, biased in the direction of replacing illegitimate with legitimate orthographic patterns, show that graphotactic knowledge influences memory for specific items. An analysis of the spellings produced in the copy phase and final recall test of Experiment 3 further suggests that transposition errors resulted not so much from reconstructive processes at the time of recall but from reconstructive processes or inefficient encoding at earlier points.

Effects of varied and constant environmental contexts on acquisition and retention.

Four experiments examined the decontextualization of memories, the stage of learning in which memories can be recalled in the absence of episodic memory cues. Face-name pairs were studied with video-recorded environmental contexts in the background, and after 5 practice trials, recall of names associated with faces was tested in the absence of the original video context cues. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, five retrieval practice trials for a pair occurred either always with the original video context (constant context condition) or with a new context on each trial (varied context condition). Final recall was tested either on the same day (Experiments 3 and 4) or 2 days later (Experiments 1 and 2), and either the recall test context for each face was a new (never seen) video (Experiment 1) or there was no context shown at test (Experiments 2, 3, and 4). In the first 3 experiments, acquisition was better for the constant context condition, but on the final recall test, performance was better for pairs learned under varied context conditions. In Experiment 4, which used multiple study trials rather than multiple retrieval practices during acquisition, no differences were found between the constant and varied context conditions, either for acquisition or for final retention. The results show that acquisition trials given in varied contexts can result in decontextualized memories, but only when acquisition involves retrieval practice, rather than simple restudy trials. These results are consistent with the new theory of disuse, but not with the theory of encoding variability.