Value-directed Remembering Research Articles

The effect of value on context and target recollection in memory for truth and falsity

Memory for truth and falsity has recently been investigated from the perspective of the dual-recollection theory, showing better context and target recollection for truth than falsity. In this paper, we examine whether these memory effects obtained for true statements are similar to the value effect, whereby true statements are given higher priority in encoding. For this purpose, we implemented value-directed remembering (VDR) into the conjoint-recognition paradigm. In our first experiment, the primary goal was to verify how VDR influences the processes defined by dual-recollection theory. At study, prioritized/important items were linked to higher numerical values (e.g., 10), while unimportant ones had lower values (e.g., 1). At test, the participants’ task was to recognize whether a particular sentence was important, unimportant, or new. We found that both context and target recollection were better for important items. In the second experiment, the main goal was to study the combined effects of importance and veracity on memory. In the between-subjects design, participants were monetarily rewarded for memorizing true or false sentences. The results demonstrated differences in the ability to prioritize truth over falsity. Specifically, we found a substantial increase in context recollection for prioritized true information but not for prioritized false information. Moreover, we found higher context recollection for true than false sentences in the true-prioritized condition, but not in the false-prioritized condition. These results indicated that people are able to prioritize true information better than false, and suggested that memory for truth may be a special case of the value effect.

Value-directed retrieval: The effects of divided attention at encoding and retrieval on memory selectivity and retrieval dynamics.

Value-directed remembering refers to the tendency to best remember important information at the expense of less valuable information, and this ability may draw on strategic attentional processes. In six experiments, we investigated the role of attention in value-directed remembering by examining memory for important information under conditions of divided attention during encoding and retrieval. We presented participants with lists of words of varying objective or subjective value and compared participants completing the study phase under full or divided attention, in addition to participants completing the testing phase under full or divided attention. Results revealed that certain forms of selectivity were impaired when attention was divided during encoding but not when attention was divided during retrieval. Participants initiated recall (i.e., probability of first recall [PFR]) with high-value words as well as with words they subjectively deemed important; these value-mediated PFR retrieval dynamics resisted influence from reduced attentional resources during encoding and retrieval. Thus, while value-directed remembering involves both strategic encoding and retrieval operations, attentional resources during encoding appear crucial for subsequent recollection of valuable and important information; however, attentional resources during retrieval may be less influential in strategic selective memory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Goal-directed remembering in older adults

ABSTRACT Compared to younger adults, older adults show a reduced difference in memory between items they are directed to remember and items they are directed to forget. This effect may result from increased processing of goal-irrelevant information in aging. In contrast, healthy older adults are often able to selectively remember valuable information, suggesting preservation of goal-directed encoding in aging. Here, we examined how value may differentially affect directed-forgetting and memory for irrelevant details for younger and older adults in a value-directed remembering task. In Experiment 1, participants studied words paired with a directed-forgetting cue and a point-value they earned for later recognition. Participants’ memory was then tested, either after an 8-min or 24-hr retention interval. In Experiment 2 words were presented in two colors and the recognition test assessed whether the participant could retrieve the incidentally-presented point value and the color of each recognized words. In both experiments, older and younger adults displayed a comparable ability to selectively encode valuable items. However, older adults showed a reduced directed-forgetting effect compared to younger adults that was maintained across the 24-hr retention interval. In Experiment 2, older adults showed both intact directed-forgetting and similar incidental detail retrieval compared to younger adults. These findings suggest that older adults maintained selectivity to value, demonstrating that aging does not impact the differential encoding of valuable information. Furthermore, younger and older adults may be similarly goal-directed in terms of item features to encode, but that instructions to forget presented items are less effective in older adults.

Does point value structure influence measures of memory selectivity?

ABSTRACT In reward-based learning and value-directed remembering, many different value structures for the to-be-remembered information have been used by researchers. I was interested in whether different scoring structures used in a value-directed remembering task impact measures of memory selectivity. Participants studied lists of words paired with point values and some lists included words paired with values ranging from 1 to 20, 1 to 10 (repeating twice), either a high value (10 points) or a low value (1 point), and either a high value (10 points), a medium value (5 points) or a low value (1 point). Results suggest that (1) in tests of free recall, if using a continuous value scale, the range of values matters in terms of selective memory, (2) analysing the selectivity index can yield different results than modelling item-level recall using point values (and the latter may be a preferable approach), (3) measures of selectivity using different value structures may lack construct validity when testing memory via recognition tests, and (4) the effect of value on memory is much larger on recall than recognition tests. Thus, I suggest that researchers carefully consider and justify the value structure used when examining selective memory for valuable information in list learning tasks.

Value-directed learning: Schematic reward structure facilitates learning.

When learning, it is often necessary to identify important themes to organize key concepts into categories. In value-directed remembering tasks, words are paired with point values to communicate item importance, and participants prioritize high-value words over low-value words, demonstrating selective memory. In the present study, we paired values with words based on category membership to examine whether being selective in this task would lead to a transfer of learning of the "schematic reward structure" of the lists with task experience. Participants studied lists of words paired with numeric values corresponding to the categories the words belonged to and were asked to assign a value to novel exemplars from the studied categories on a final test. In Experiment1, instructions about the schematic structure of the lists were manipulated between participants to either explicitly inform participants about the list categories or to offer more general instructions about item importance. The presence of a visible value cue during encoding was also manipulated between participants such that participants either studied the words paired with visible value cues or studied them alone. Results revealed a benefit of both explicit schema instructions and visible value cues for learning, and this persisted even after a short delay. In Experiment 2, participants had fewer study trials and received no instructions about the schematic structure of the lists. Results showed that participants could learn the schematic reward structure with fewer study trials, and value cues enhanced adaptation to new themes with task experience.

Younger and older adults' strategic use of associative memory and metacognitive control when learning foreign vocabulary words of varying importance.

Older adults often face memory deficits in binding unrelated items. However, in situations such as preparing for foreign travel, a learner may be highly motivated to learn the translations of important words (e.g., "money"). In the present study, younger and older adults studied Swahili-English word pairs and judged the importance of knowing each pair if they were traveling to a foreign country. Generally, we expected older adults to display a memory deficit but for both younger and older adults' memory to be driven by the subjective importance of the to-be-learned information. Both younger and older adults' memory was related to their subjective importance ratings, suggesting that both age groups were able to engage in goal-based value-directed remembering. With increased task experience, older adults appeared to utilize a strategic approach in their study of the translations by spending more time studying the items relative to younger adults. Thus, despite associative memory deficits in older age, both younger and older adults can selectively remember subjectively important information such that older adults can effectively remember new vocabulary that is subjectively important and related to their future goals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Value-directed remembering in first-episode schizophrenia.

Memory deficits in individuals with schizophrenia are well-established, but less is known about how schizophrenia affects metacognitive processes such as metamemory. We investigated metamemory ability using the value-directed remembering task, which assesses the degree to which participants use value cues to guide their learning of a list of items (i.e., their memory selectivity). Participants were patients undergoing treatment following a recent first episode of schizophrenia (n = 20) and demographically comparable healthy controls (n = 18). Participants viewed six lists of 24 words where each word was paired with either a low value (1-3 points) or a high value (10-12 points), and they were instructed to maximize their score on free recall tests given after each list. After the final free recall test, participants completed a recognition test where they gave remember/know judgments. On tests of free recall, patients showed reduced memory selectivity relative to healthy controls. On the recognition test, patients failed to show an effect of value on recognition of nonrecalled words, in contrast to healthy controls, who showed a significant value effect that was characterized by greater "remember" judgments. Patients initially overestimated their memory capacity but were able to adjust their estimates to be more accurate based on task experience. Patients' self-reports of memory selectivity were unrelated to their actual memory selectivity. Patients with first-episode schizophrenia had substantial impairments on the value-directed remembering task, but areas of preserved metamemory ability were also observed. These findings have potential implications for cognitive training interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

"Self-regulated learning of important information under sequential and simultaneous encoding conditions": Correction to Middlebrooks and Castel (2018).

Reports an error in "Self-regulated learning of important information under sequential and simultaneous encoding conditions" by Catherine D. Middlebrooks and Alan D. Castel (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2018[May], Vol 44[5], 779-792). In the article, there was an error in the computer programming used to present the items to participants in the sequential condition in Experiment 1, such that participants in this condition were inadvertently shown only 18 items in each list instead of the intended 20 items. Participants in the simultaneous condition were shown 20 items during study, as intended, and Experiment 2 was not impacted by this coding error. The Procedure subsection in Experiment 1 has been modified to explain this error and the difference in study experience between the simultaneous and sequential conditions. The overall recall and value-directed remembering analyses in Experiment 1 have also been conducted again, and their respective Results subsections have been updated to reflect this missing data. Table 1 (viz. the row pertaining to the sequential condition in Experiment 1), Table 2 (viz. the column pertaining to Experiment 1), and Figure 2a have also been updated. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-49129-001.) Learners make a number of decisions when attempting to study efficiently: they must choose which information to study, for how long to study it, and whether to restudy it later. The current experiments examine whether documented impairments to self-regulated learning when studying information sequentially, as opposed to simultaneously, extend to the learning of and memory for valuable information. In Experiment 1, participants studied lists of words ranging in value from 1-10 points sequentially or simultaneously at a preset presentation rate; in Experiment 2, study was self-paced and participants could choose to restudy. Although participants prioritized high-value over low-value information, irrespective of presentation, those who studied the items simultaneously demonstrated superior value-based prioritization with respect to recall, study selections, and self-pacing. The results of the present experiments support the theory that devising, maintaining, and executing efficient study agendas is inherently different under sequential formatting than simultaneous. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Framing effects in value-directed remembering

Changing how an issue is framed can influence both decision-making and metacognition, but framing a memory task in terms of gains and losses could also impact how learners prioritize information according to its value or importance. We investigated how framing task instructions and feedback in terms of gains and losses influences learners’ ability to selectively remember valuable information at the expense of low-value information. Specifically, we presented learners with to-be-remembered words paired with point values and either told participants how many points they scored (the sum of the values of recalled words) or lost (the sum of the values of not-recalled words) on each list, with participants’ goal being to maximize their scores or minimize their losses, respectively. Overall, participants were more selective for high-value words when their goals were framed in terms of point gains compared with when their goals were framed in terms of losses, and learners’ metacognitive predictions of performance (JOLs) generally mapped onto this trend. Thus, framing in terms of losses for forgetting can reduce memory selectivity, perhaps because even small losses are salient, indicating that framing effects are not limited to decision-making but can influence memory and metacognitive processes as well.

The effect of external store reliance on actual and predicted value-directed remembering.

We often rely on external devices to store to-be-remembered information in our everyday lives (e.g., writing grocery lists, setting reminders), yet there is limited research about how certain information (i.e., valuable information) may be differentially encoded when we rely on our internal memory versus an external store. Across three preregistered experiments, we examined the effect of relying on an external store on the recall of high-value and low-value information. In Experiments 1a and 1b, we presented participants with words associated with point values and examined mean recall performance during two critical trials in which the external store was not available: (1) a trial in which participants were told that they would have access to an external memory store at test (told-external-store) and (2) a trial in which participants were told that they would not have access to their external store at test (told-no-external-store). In Experiment 2, we explored participants' metacognitive predictions of performance on the recall test. Critically, across all of the experiments, we found that the value effect (i.e., better recall for valuable information) was significantly reduced when individuals were told that they could rely on an external store. The same pattern was present in participant's metacognitive judgements. Together, these results suggest that when relying on external stores, individuals forgo (to some extent, at least) selective encoding by value and that individuals might be aware of this change in strategy.

Memory and Reward-Based Learning: A Value-Directed Remembering Perspective

The ability to prioritize valuable information is critical for the efficient use of memory in daily life. When information is important, we engage more effective encoding mechanisms that can better support retrieval. Here, we describe a dual-mechanism framework of value-directed remembering in which both strategic and automatic processes lead to differential encoding of valuable information. Strategic processes rely on metacognitive awareness of effective deep encoding strategies that allow younger and healthy older adults to selectively remember important information. In contrast, some high-value information may also be encoded automatically in the absence of intention to remember, but this may be more impaired in older age. These different mechanisms are subserved by different neural substrates, with left-hemisphere semantic processing regions active during the strategic encoding of high-value items, and automatic enhancement of encoding of high-value items may be supported by activation of midbrain dopaminergic projections to the hippocampal region.

The role of attention and ageing in the retrieval dynamics of value-directed remembering.

For memory to be efficient, people need to remember important information. This involves selective encoding and retrieval operations to maximise the recall of valuable information at the expense of less important information. While past research has examined this in terms of strategic encoding operations, we investigated differences in the dynamics of retrieval in value-directed remembering tasks with younger adults under full and divided attention during encoding as well as in older adults. Participants typically initiated recall with the first presented, last presented, or highest valued words and also strategically organised retrieval according to information value such that high-value words tended to be recalled before low-value words. However, the average value of older adults' first recalled word was greater than that of younger adults, likely contributing to their enhanced selectivity. In addition, there were no differences in lag-conditional-response probabilities in younger adults under full or divided attention, but older adults showed impairments in the retrieval of items sharing contextual features with nearby items, while younger adults relied more on temporal-contextual cues to recall words. Together, this study suggests that both strategic encoding and strategic retrieval operations contribute to selectivity for valuable information and older adults may be able to maximise retrieval operations despite displaying impairments in temporal binding during encoding and an overall recall deficit.

Metacognition and fluid intelligence in value-directed remembering

The ability to selectively focus on and remember important information, referred to as value-directed remembering, may be crucial for effective memory functioning. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between metacognitive monitoring and control accuracy, selectivity for valuable information, and fluid intelligence. Mediation analyses demonstrated that participants’ monitoring assessments and later recall were influenced by the value of the to-be-learned words and the accuracy of participants’ judgments was moderated by fluid intelligence. Moreover, recall, selectivity, metacognitive awareness of selectivity, and metacognitive accuracy all generally increased with task experience, demonstrating participants’ ability to improve their memory by utilizing cognitive resources more effectively. Together the results suggest that people may be aware of the need to be selective, and engaging in value-directed remembering may be related to higher-level cognitive skills associated with problem-solving and reasoning. Specifically, the strategic use of memory may be involved in focusing on important information, and the metacognitive processes that allow for this prioritization of memory may be related to more general problem-solving abilities that involve identifying important features of information to guide cognition in a broader context.

Value-directed memory effects on item and context memory.

The ability to prioritize learning some information over others when that information is considered important or valuable is known as value-directed remembering. In these experiments, we investigate how value influences different aspects of memory, including item memory (memory for the to-be-learned materials) and context memory (memory for peripheral details that occurred when studying items) to get a better understanding of how people prioritize learning information. In this investigation, participants encoded words associated with a range of values (binned into higher, medium, and lower value in Experiment 1, and into higher and lower value in Experiment 2) for a subsequent memory test that measured item memory (Is this item old or new?) as well as both objective context memory (memory for an objectively verifiable contextual detail: In which voice was this item spoken?) and subjective context memory (How many visual, auditory, and extraneous thoughts/feelings can you remember associated with this item?). Results indicated that value influenced item memory but had no effect on objective context memory in both Experiments. In Experiment 2, results showed better subjective context memory for multiple episodic details for higher-value relative to lower-value materials. Overall, these findings suggest that value has a strong influence over some aspects of memory, but not others. This work gives a richer understanding of how people prioritize learning more important over less important information.

A matter of priorities: High working memory enables (slightly) superior value-directed remembering

• A series of experiments tests if working memory predicts ability to prioritize study. • High working memory leads to slightly better prioritization. • Experience at prioritizing leads to more marked improvements across all subjects. People with larger working memory capacity exhibit enhanced free recall. One explanation for this relationship is that the strategies that people bring to the task of learning and retrieving are superior in learners with high working memory. There is ample evidence that learners with high working memory do indeed bring better strategies to both encoding and retrieval, but as yet little evidence of whether higher working memory is related to greater effectiveness in prioritizing information across materials that differ in value. Using the value-directed remembering paradigm of Castel, Benjamin, Watkins, and Craik (2002), we examined whether learners with high working memory capacity show a particular advantage in remembering materials that are of high value. Across four experiments, we found that high working memory capacity led to a selective preference for remembering high-valued word pairs, but the effect was very modest and does not provide a complete picture of the relationship between working memory and recall.

Forget me not: Encoding processes in value-directed remembering

Abstract Valuable items are often remembered better than less valuable items, but research on the mechanisms supporting this value effect is limited. In the current study, we sought to determine how items might be differentially encoded based on their value. In Experiment 1, participants studied words associated with point-values which were followed by a cue to either “Remember” the word for a later test or “Forget” the word. While to-be-forgotten words were recognized at a lower rate than to-be-remembered words, there was a significant effect of value for to-be-forgotten words when the “Forget” cue was presented immediately after the word, suggesting a relatively automatic enhancement of encoding by value. In Experiment 2, we examined to what extent participants engage in more effective encoding strategies for high-value items. Participants studied a list of words with different point-values, and were instructed either to construct a mental image of the item, use rote rehearsal to learn the items, or were not given any study strategy. There were significant effects of value for items that were studied under rote rehearsal or when no strategy instruction was given. However, effects of value were nearly eliminated when participants used a mental imagery strategy for all items as this strategy boosted memory for low-value items. In Experiment 3, we sought to replicate Experiment 2 with an encoding manipulations that required responses on each trial as a manipulation check. Participants were instructed to generate a sentence containing each item, count the consonants in each item, or were not given any encoding instructions. Consistent with Experiment 2, these manipulations eliminated the effects of value on recognition memory. Thus, it appears that participants engage in more effective encoding strategies for high-value words because the benefit of value was substantially reduced when participants were required to use the same encoding strategy for all items. Together, these results suggest that valuable items are encoded more effectively due to strategic, and to a lesser extent, automatic mechanisms.

Aging and forgetting: Forgotten information is perceived as less important than is remembered information.

Recently, researchers have evaluated the mechanisms that contribute to younger adults' metacognitive monitoring. According to analytic-processing theory, people's beliefs about their memory are central to their monitoring judgments. Although this theory has received ample support with younger adults, it has yet to be evaluated with older adults. We aimed to address this gap in the literature. Specifically, we evaluated younger and older adults' beliefs about forgetting, and the role of these beliefs in their judgments about forgotten information. Younger adults tend to recall forgotten information as being less important than remembered information (dubbed the forgetting bias). Moreover, this bias is largely driven by their beliefs about forgotten information. In the present research, we evaluated (a) whether older adults also show a forgetting bias and (b) the contribution of their beliefs to this bias. In Studies 1 and 2, participants completed a value-directed remembering task. Next, participants took a surprise cued-recall test for the values. In Study 2, we evaluated participants' beliefs by having them make a memory-for-past-test judgment prior to recalling the values. In Study 3, we directly probed participants' beliefs about the value of forgotten information with a survey. Older and younger adults demonstrated a forgetting bias. Moreover, and consistent with analytic-processing theory, people's beliefs about forgotten information contributed to this bias. Thus, beliefs are an important mechanism that contribute to both older and younger adults' metacognitive monitoring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Divided Attention Selectively Impairs Value-Directed Encoding

In the present study, we examined the effect of value-directed encoding on recognition memory and how various divided attention tasks at encoding alter value-directed remembering. In the first experiment, participants encoded words that were assigned either high or low point values in multiple study-test phases. The points corresponded to the value the participants could earn by successfully recognizing the words in an upcoming recognition memory task. Importantly, participants were instructed that their goal was to maximize their score in this memory task. The second experiment was modified such that while studying the words participants simultaneously completed a divided attention task (either articulatory suppression or random number generation). The third experiment used a non-verbal tone detection divided attention task (easy or difficult versions). Subjective states of recollection (i.e., “Remember”) and familiarity (i.e., “Know”) were assessed at retrieval in all experiments. In Experiment 1, high value words were recognized more effectively than low value words, and this difference was primarily driven by increases in “Remember” responses with no difference in “Know” responses. In Experiment 2, the pattern of subjective judgment results from the articulatory suppression condition replicated Experiment 1. However, in the random number generation condition, the effect of value on recognition memory was lost. This same pattern of results was found in Experiment 3 which implemented a different variant of the divided attention task. Overall, these data suggest that executive processes are used when encoding valuable information and that value-directed improvements to memory are not merely the result of differential rehearsal.

The role of attention in remembering important item-location associations.

When encountering an excess of information, people are able to selectively remember high-value information by strategically allocating attention during the encoding period, termed value-directed remembering. This has been demonstrated in both the episodic verbal and visuospatial memory domains. Importantly, the allocation of attention also plays a crucial role in the binding of identity and location information in visuospatial memory. We examined how taxing attentional resources to various degrees during encoding might affect visuospatial memory and selectivity. Participants studied items paired with point values indicating their value in a grid display and were asked to maximize their point score (a summation of the points associated with correctly remembered information). Participants viewed items under either a sequential or simultaneous presentation format and in either the presence or absence of a secondary tone discrimination task. While participants in the divided attention conditions recalled fewer item-location associations overall, participants in all encoding conditions prioritized high-value information in memory, providing further evidence that selectivity can be maintained even when attentional resources are taxed. However, differences between presentation formats emerged when conducting spatial resolution analyses examining errors. Errors in the simultaneous conditions were only influenced by item value when attention was full during encoding, while errors in the sequential conditions were not influenced by item value, regardless of available attentional resources. The results suggest participants can strategically allocate attention during encoding even under cognitively-demanding conditions and that gist-based visuospatial memory may only be influenced by information importance when adequate attentional resources are available.

Free recall dynamics in value-directed remembering

An emerging literature on value-directed remembering has shown that people are able to encode and remember information that is more important. Researchers operationalize importance by differentially assigning value to the memoranda that participants are asked to encode and remember. In the present investigation, a slightly altered value-directed-remembering paradigm was used to investigate how value modifies the dynamics of memory organization and search in free recall. In Experiment 1, free recall dynamics were compared between a control and a value condition. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the order of presentation of the values by adding an ascending and a descending condition where values were presented congruently or incongruently with the evolution of temporal context. Experiments 3 and 4 paralleled Experiments 1 and 2 respectively, with the addition of overt rehearsal and an unexpected memory test for the numbers/values. Overall, the results indicated that value-directed encoding has an influence on measures of delayed free recall encoding, organization, and search processes.