Blurring past and present: Using false memory to better understand false hearing in young and older adults.

A number of recent studies have shown that older adults are more susceptible to context-based misperceptions in hearing (Rogers, Jacoby, & Sommers, Psychology and Aging, 27, 33-45, 2012; Sommers, Morton, & Rogers, Remembering: Attributions, Processes, and Control in Human Memory [Essays in Honor of Larry Jacoby], pp. 269-284, 2015) than are young adults. One explanation for these age-related increases in what we term false hearing is that older adults are less able than young individuals to inhibit a prepotent response favored by context. A similar explanation has been proposed for demonstrations of age-related increases in false memory (Jacoby, Bishara, Hessels, & Toth, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 134, 131-148, 2005). The present study was designed to compare susceptibility to false hearing and false memory in a group of young and older adults. In Experiment 1, we replicated the findings of past studies demonstrating increased frequency of false hearing in older, relative to young, adults. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated older adults' increased susceptibility to false memory in the same sample. Importantly, we found that participants who were more prone to false hearing also tended to be more prone to false memory, supporting the idea that the two phenomena share a common mechanism. The results are discussed within the framework of a capture model, which differentiates between context-based responding resulting from failures of cognitive control and context-based guessing.

Cognitive control constrains memory attributions.

Cognitive control constrains retrieval processing and so restricts what comes to mind as input to the attribution system. We review evidence that older adults, patients with Alzheimer's disease, and people with traumatic brain injury exert less cognitive control during retrieval, and so are susceptible to memory misattributions in the form of dramatic levels of false remembering.

The importance of time to think back: The role of reminding in retroactive effects of memory.

Change has been described as detrimental for later memory for the original event in research on retroactive interference. Popular accounts of retroactive interference treat learning as the formation of simple associations and explain interference as due to response competition, perhaps along with unlearning or inhibition of the original response. By such accounts, providing additional study time for a changed response in a classic A-B, A-D learning paradigm should increase retroactive interference. In contrast, our experiments show that changing a response produces retroactive facilitation rather than retroactive interference but that outcome requires that the change be detected in the form of a reminding. When reminding does not occur, retroactive interference is observed. Increasing time to study the changed response increases the likelihood of being reminded. Accounts in terms of simple associations cannot explain the importance of reminding. We do so by assuming that being reminded results in a recursive representation that includes both the original and changed response along with the order in which they occurred. We discuss the importance of our results for application as well as for theory. (PsycINFO Database Record

Multinomial models reveal deficits of two distinct controlled retrieval processes in aging and very mild Alzheimer disease.

Dual-process models of episodic retrieval reveal consistent deficits of controlled recollection in aging and Alzheimer disease (AD). In contrast, automatic familiarity is relatively spared. We extend standard dual-process models by showing the importance of a third capture process. Capture produces a failure to attempt recollection, which might reflect a distinct error from an inability to recollect when attempted (Jacoby et al. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 134(2), 131-148, 2005a). We used multinomial process tree (MPT) modeling to estimate controlled recollection and capture processes, as well as automatic retrieval processes, in a large group of middle-aged to older adults who were cognitively normal (N = 519) or diagnosed with the earliest detectable stage of AD (N = 107). Participants incidentally encoded word pairs (e.g., knee bone). At retrieval, participants completed cued word fragments (e.g., knee b_n_) with primes that were congruent (e.g., bone), incongruent (e.g., bend), or neutral (i.e., &&&) to the target (e.g., bone). MPT models estimated retrieval processes both at the group and the individual levels. A capture parameter was necessary to fit MPT models to the observed data, suggesting that dual-process models of this task can be contaminated by a capture process. In both group- and individual-level analyses, aging and very mild AD were associated with increased susceptibility to capture, decreased recollection, and no differences in automatic influences. These results suggest that it is important to consider two distinct modes of attentional control when modeling retrieval processes. Both forms of control (recollection and avoiding capture) are particularly sensitive to cognitive decline in aging and early-stage AD.

Context specificity of automatic influences of memory.

It has often been shown that intentional recollection is influenced by context manipulations, such as context reinstatement (e.g., Smith, 2013; Smith & Vela, 2001), but whether or not automatic retrieval (e.g., Jacoby, 1991) is likewise context dependent remains an open question. Here, we present two experiments that examined effects of context manipulations on indirect measures of memory. The first experiment tested anagram completion, and the second experiment used word fragment completion to test effects of context reinstatement; both experiments found reinstatement effects. To address potential problems of explicit contamination, we also asked participants if they were aware of the priming manipulations. Separating participants according to their test awareness showed effects of context manipulations for both aware and unaware participants. A greater effect size was found for aware participants only in Experiment 1, in which participants had enough time on each test trial for recollection to be used. We conclude that context reinstatement does affect automatic retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Simultaneous Versus Sequential Presentation in Testing Recognition Memory for Faces.

Three experiments examined the issue of whether faces could be better recognized in a simul- taneous test format (2-alternative forced choice [2AFC]) or a sequential test format (yes-no). All experiments showed that when target faces were present in the test, the simultaneous procedure led to superior performance (area under the ROC curve), whether lures were high or low in similarity to the targets. However, when a target-absent condition was used in which no lures resembled the targets but the lures were similar to each other, the simultaneous procedure yielded higher false alarm rates (Experiments 2 and 3) and worse overall performance (Experi- ment 3). This pattern persisted even when we excluded responses that participants opted to withhold rather than volunteer. We conclude that for the basic recognition procedures used in these experiments, simultaneous presentation of alternatives (2AFC) generally leads to better discriminability than does sequential presentation (yes-no) when a target is among the alterna- tives. However, our results also show that the opposite can occur when there is no target among the alternatives. An important future step is to see whether these patterns extend to more realistic eyewitness lineup procedures. The pictures used in the experiment are available online at http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/ajp/media/testing_recognition/.

Memory consequences of looking back to notice change: Retroactive and proactive facilitation.

Three experiments contrasted recollection of change with differentiation as means of avoiding retroactive interference and proactive interference. We manipulated the extent to which participants looked back to notice change between pairs of cues and targets (A-B, A-D) and measured the effects on later cued recall of either the first or second response. Two lists of word pairs were presented. Some right-hand members of pairs were changed within List 2, whereas others were changed between lists. Participants in a Within-List Back condition were instructed to detect changes that occurred only during List 2, in an effort to reduce noticing changes in pairs between lists while simultaneously differentiating the 2 lists. In contrast, participants in an N-Back condition were instructed to detect both within-list and between-list changes. Recall of first list responses that changed between lists produced retroactive facilitation for the N-Back condition but not for the Within-List Back condition. Similarly, recall of second list responses that changed between lists produced proactive facilitation for the N-Back condition but not for the Within-List Back condition. The greater extent of looking back increased detection of change and later recollection of change, which produced facilitation. When change was not recollected, detected change produced proactive interference. The recursive reminding produced when change is noticed contrasts with the simple associations of classic interference theory, and memory performance when change is recollected contrasts with the predictions of interference theory.

Memory for flip-flopping: detection and recollection of political contradictions.

During political campaigns, candidates often change their positions on controversial issues. Does changing positions create confusion and impair memory for a politician's current position? In 3 experiments, two political candidates held positions on controversial issues in two debates. Across the debates, their positions were repeated, changed, or held only in the second debate (control). Relative to the control condition, recall of the most recent position on issues was enhanced when change was detected and recollected, whereas recall was impaired when change was not recollected. Furthermore, examining the errors revealed that subjects were more likely to intrude a Debate 1 response than to recall a blend of the two positions, and that recollecting change decreased Debate 1 intrusions. We argue that detecting change produces a recursive representation that embeds the original position in memory along with the more recent position. Recollecting change then enhances memory for the politician's positions and their order of occurrence by accessing the recursive trace.

The role of reminding in the effects of spaced repetitions on cued recall: sufficient but not necessary.

Three experiments examined the role of study-phase retrieval (reminding) in the effects of spaced repetitions on cued recall. Remindings were brought under task control to evaluate their effects. Participants studied 2 lists of word pairs containing 3 item types: single items that appeared once in List 2, within-list repetitions that appeared twice in List 2, and between-list repetitions that appeared once in List 1 and once in List 2. Our primary interest was in performance on between-list repetitions. Detection of between-list repetitions was encouraged in an n-back condition by instructing participants to indicate when a presented item was a repetition of any preceding item, including items presented in List 1. In contrast, detection of between-list repetitions was discouraged in a within-list back condition by instructing participants only to indicate repetitions occurring in List 2. Cued recall of between-list repetitions was enhanced when instructions encouraged detection of List 1 presentations. These results accord with those from prior experiments showing a role of study-phase retrieval in effects of spacing repetitions. Past experiments have relied on conditionalized data to draw conclusions, producing the possibility that performance benefits merely reflected effects of item selection. By bringing effects under task control, we avoided that problem. Our results provide evidence that reminding resulting from retrieval of earlier presentations plays a role in the effects of spaced repetitions on cued recall. However, our results also reveal that such retrievals are not necessary to produce an effect of spacing repetitions.

The role of detection and recollection of change in list discrimination.

In two experiments, we examined the importance of the detection and recollection of change for list discrimination. Two lists of pairs were presented, with the right-hand member being changed between lists for some pairs. Participants in Experiment 1 were instructed to explicitly indicate when they detected a change between pairs during the presentation of List 2, whereas participants in Experiment 2 were not instructed to do so. At the time of test, participants in both experiments were presented with a pair and asked whether it had been presented in List 2. Next, recollection of change was measured by asking whether the right-hand member of the pair was changed between the lists. The results from Experiment 1 revealed high correspondence between the detection of change during the presentation of List 2 and the recollection of change at the time of test. Consequently, change recollection at test can serve as a measure of earlier change detection, in combination with access to memory for change at the time of test. In both experiments, as compared to control conditions, proactive facilitation in list discrimination was observed when change was recollected, whereas proactive interference was observed when change was not recollected. These results were interpreted as showing that recursive reminding-bringing a List 1 pair to mind during the presentation of its changed List 2 pair-embeds memory for the earlier event into memory for the later event, and doing so preserves information about list membership.

On the importance of looking back: the role of recursive remindings in recency judgments and cued recall.

Suppose that you were asked which of two movies you had most recently seen. The results of the experiments reported here suggest that your answer would be more accurate if, when viewing the later movie, you were reminded of the earlier one. In the present experiments, we investigated the role of remindings in recency judgments and cued-recall performance. We did this by presenting a list composed of two instances from each of several different categories and later asking participants to select (Exp. 1) or to recall (Exp. 2) the more recently presented instance. Reminding was manipulated by varying instructions to look back over memory of earlier instances during the presentation of later instances. As compared to a control condition, cued-recall performance revealed facilitation effects when remindings occurred and were later recollected, but interference effects in their absence. The effects of reminding on recency judgments paralleled those on cued recall of more recently presented instances. We interpret these results as showing that reminding produces a recursive representation that embeds memory for an earlier-presented category instance into that of a later-presented one and, thereby, preserves their temporal order. Large individual differences in the probabilities of remindings and of their later recollection were observed. The widespread importance of recursive reminding for theory and for applied purposes is discussed.

Remembering change: the critical role of recursive remindings in proactive effects of memory.

In three experiments, we examined the role of the detection and recollection of change in proactive effects of memory in a classic A-B, A-D paradigm. Participants studied two lists of word pairs that included pairs repeated across lists (A-B, A-B), pairs with the same cue but a changed response (A-B, A-D) in the second list, and control pairs (A-B, C-D). The results revealed that performance on A-B, A-D pairs reflected a mixture of facilitation and interference effects. Proactive facilitation occurred when changes in responses were detected and recollected, whereas proactive interference occurred when change was not detected or when it was not recollected. We describe detecting change as involving recursive remindings that result in memory for the List 1 response being embedded in the representation of memory for the List 2 response. These embedded representations preserve the temporal order of the responses. Our findings highlight the importance of detection and recollection of change for proactive effects of memory.

Self-regulated learning of a natural category: do people interleave or block exemplars during study?

Despite decades of research focused on the representation of concepts, little is known about the influence of self-regulatory processes when learning natural categories. Such work is vital, as many contexts require self-regulation when we form complex concepts. Previous research has demonstrated that interleaving, as compared to blocking, can improve classification. Thus, as an initial step to explore self-regulated learning of natural concepts, we evaluated whether people chose to block or interleave their practice. According to the search-for-differences hypothesis, people attempt to identify features of birds that distinguish one category (i.e., bird family) from another, and hence should interleave their study. According to the search-for-similarities hypothesis, people attempt to identify features that indicate inclusion into a single category, and hence are expected to block their study. To evaluate these hypotheses, we had participants learn exemplar birds (e.g., Song Sparrow) with their respective bird families (e.g., Sparrow) by selecting the order in which to study bird families. Across four experiments, different formats for selecting exemplars for study were used, so as to provide converging evidence for how participants regulated their learning. Participants overwhelmingly preferred to block their study, even though interleaving is normatively better for learning.

Diminishing adult egocentrism when estimating what others know.

People often use what they know as a basis to estimate what others know. This egocentrism can bias their estimates of others' knowledge. In 2 experiments, we examined whether people can diminish egocentrism when predicting for others. Participants answered general knowledge questions and then estimated how many of their peers would know the answers. Egocentrism was revealed in the relationship between participants' own accuracy and their estimates of peer accuracy for questions that were new to the experiment. However, when participants encountered the answer to a question asked earlier in the experiment, they showed reduced egocentrism for these old relative to new questions (Experiment 1). Participants were aware that recent experience with answers spoiled their knowledge as a basis for estimating what others know. Consequently, they relied on more objective bases for prediction, which enhanced their ability to discriminate between questions that are easy versus difficult for others (i.e., relative accuracy). In Experiment 2, the relative accuracy of estimates of others' knowledge was also enhanced when experience-based cues were blocked by presenting the answer with the question. Results are discussed in terms of a dual process theory of the bases (e.g., experience vs. theory) people use for predictions for others. Further, we discuss the effects of egocentrism in educational contexts, such as a professor estimating what students know. In sum, our findings show that people can shift away from their own knowledge to diminish egocentrism and to more accurately estimate what others know.

Cognitive training-related changes in hippocampal activity associated with recollection in older adults.

Impairments in the ability to recollect specific details of personally experienced events are one of the main cognitive changes associated with aging. Cognitive training can improve older adults' recollection. However, little is currently known regarding the neural correlates of these training-related changes in recollection. Prior research suggests that the hippocampus plays a central role in supporting recollection in young and older adults, and that age-related changes in hippocampal function may lead to age-related changes in recollection. The present study investigated whether cognitive training-related increases in older adults' recollection are associated with changes in their hippocampal activity during memory retrieval. Older adults' hippocampal activity during retrieval was examined before and after they were trained to use semantic encoding strategies to intentionally encode words. Training-related changes in recollection were positively correlated with training-related changes in activity for old words in the hippocampus bilaterally. Positive correlations were also found between training-related changes in activity in prefrontal and left lateral temporal regions associated with self-initiated semantic strategy use during encoding and training-related changes in right hippocampal activity associated with recollection during retrieval. These results suggest that cognitive training-related improvements in older adults' recollection can be supported by changes in their hippocampal activity during retrieval. They also suggest that age differences in cognitive processes engaged during encoding are a significant contributor to age differences in recollection during retrieval.

The process-dissociation approach two decades later: convergence, boundary conditions, and new directions.

The process-dissociation procedure was developed to separate the controlled and automatic contributions of memory. It has spawned the development of a host of new measurement approaches and has been applied across a broad range of fields in the behavioral sciences, ranging from studies of memory and perception to neuroscience and social psychology. Although it has not been without its shortcomings or critics, its growing influence attests to its utility. In the present article, we briefly review the factors motivating its development, describe some of the early applications of the general method, and review the literature examining its underlying assumptions and boundary conditions. We then highlight some of the specific issues that the methods have been applied to and discuss some of the more recent applications of the procedure, along with future directions.

Metacognitive judgments of repetition and variability effects in natural concept learning: evidence for variability neglect.

In four experiments, we examined the effects of repetitions and variability on the learning of bird families and metacognitive awareness of such effects. Of particular interest was the accuracy of, and bases for, predictions regarding classification of novel bird species, referred to as category learning judgments (CLJs). Participants studied birds in high repetitions and high variability conditions. These conditions differed in the number of presentations of each bird (repetitions) and the number of unique species from each family (variability). After study, participants made CLJs for each family and were then tested. Results from a classification test revealed repetition benefits for studied species and variability benefits for novel species. In contrast with performance, CLJs did not reflect the benefits of variability. Results showed that CLJs were susceptible to accessibility-based metacognitive illusions produced by additional repetitions of studied items.

Mistaking the recent past for the present: false seeing by older adults.

Results of three experiments revealed that older, as compared to young, adults are more reliant on context when "seeing" a briefly flashed word that was preceded by a prime. In a congruent condition, the prime was the same word as flashed (e.g., DIRT dirt) whereas in an incongruent condition, the prime differed in a single letter from the word that was flashed (DART dirt). Following their attempt to identify the flashed word, participants were asked to report whether they had "seen" the flashed word or, instead, had responded on some other basis (knowing or guessing). Older adults showed dramatically higher false seeing by reporting the prime on incongruent trials and claiming to have seen it flashed. This was true even though a titration procedure was used to equate the performance of young and older adults on baseline trials which did not provide a biasing context. Results of Experiment 3 related age differences in false seeing to willingness to respond when given the option to withhold responses. Convergence of results with those showing higher false memory and false hearing are interpreted as evidence that older adults are less able to avoid misleading effects of context. That lessened ability may be associated with decline in frontal lobe functioning.

Frequent false hearing by older adults: the role of age differences in metacognition.

In two experiments testing age differences in the subjective experience of listening, which we call meta-audition, young and older adults were first trained to learn pairs of semantic associates. Following training, both groups were tested on identification of words presented in noise, with the critical manipulation being whether the target item was congruent, incongruent, or neutral with respect to prior training. Results of both experiments revealed that older adults compared to young adults were more prone to "false hearing," defined as mistaken high confidence in the accuracy of perception when a spoken word had been misperceived. These results were obtained even when performance was equated across age groups on control items by reducing the noise level for older adults. Such false hearing is shown to reflect older adults' heavier reliance on context. Findings suggest that older adults' greater ability to benefit from semantic context reflects their bias to respond consistently with the context, rather than their greater skill in using context. Procedures employed are unique in measuring the subjective experience of hearing as well as its accuracy. Both theoretical and applied implications of the findings are discussed. Convergence of results with those showing higher false memory, and false seeing are interpreted as showing that older adults are less able to constrain their processing in ways that are optimal for performance of a current task. That lessened constraint may be associated with decline in frontal-lobe functioning.

Source-constrained recall: front-end and back-end control of retrieval quality.

Research on the strategic regulation of memory accuracy has focused primarily on monitoring and control processes used to edit out incorrect information after it is retrieved (back-end control). Recent studies, however, suggest that rememberers also enhance accuracy by preventing the retrieval of incorrect information in the first place (front-end control). The present study put forward and examined a mechanism called source-constrained recall (cf. Jacoby, Shimizu, Velanova, & Rhodes, 2005) by which rememberers process and use recall cues in qualitatively different ways, depending on the manner of original encoding. Results of 2 experiments in which information about source encoding depth was made available at test showed that when possible, participants constrained recall to the solicited targets by reinstating the original encoding operations on the recall cues. This reinstatement improved the quality of the information that came to mind, which, together with improved postretrieval monitoring, enhanced actual recall performance.