Repeated encoding fosters retention of perceptual detail in visual recognition memory.

ABSTRACT

In a 2014 issue of Learning & Memory, Reagh and Yassa proposed that repeated encoding leads to semanticization and loss of perceptual detail in memory. We presented object images one or three times and tested recognition of targets and corresponding similar lures. Correct lure rejections after one in comparison to three exposures were more frequently associated with corresponding target misses, suggesting that higher lure rejections after one exposure reflect memory failure rather than perceptual fidelity. Signal detection theory analysis showed that three exposures improved lure-old discriminations. Thus, repeated encoding fosters rather than hinders retention of perceptual detail in visual recognition memory.