Abstract
We report two experiments using Sternberg’s (1969) multitrial recognition-memory paradigm. We used colored shapes as stimuli and manipulated the frequency of the shapes (but not of the colors) across trials. For lures containing an extralist shape (i.e., a shape not studied in the current study list), responses were faster if the shape had occurred infrequently than if it had occurred frequently in the preceding trials. For lures containing an extralist color and a studied shape, by contrast, the frequency of the shape in the preceding trials was irrelevant. We conclude that correct rejections depend solely on contradictory evidence. Furthermore, low-frequency target items were recognized more easily than high-frequency targets. Both the interaction of frequency with the features of the lures and the main effect of frequency for the targets are problematic for current accounts of recognition.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, J. A. (1973). A theory for the recognition of items from short memorized lists.Psychological Review,80, 417–438.
Atkinson, R. C., &Juola, J. F. (1973). Factors influencing speed and accuracy of word recognition. In S. Kornblum (Ed.),Attention and performance IV (pp. 583–612). New York: Academic Press.
Burrows, D., &Okada, R. (1971). Serial position effects in high speed memory search.Perception & Psychophysics,10, 305–308.
Chalmers, K. A., &Humphreys, M. S. (1998). Role of generalized and episode specif ic memories in the word frequency effect in recognition.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,24, 610–632.
Clark, S. E., &Gronlund, S. D. (1996). Global matching models of recognition memory: How the models match the data.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,3, 37–60.
Clifton, C., &Gutschera, K. D. (1971). Hierarchical search of twodigit numbers in a recognition memory task.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,10, 528–541.
Corballis, M. C., Kirby, J., &Miller, A. (1972). Access to elements of a memorized list.Journal of Experimental Psychology,94, 185–190.
Dennis, S., &Humphreys, M. S. (2001). A context noise model of episodic word recognition.Psychological Review,108, 452–478.
Glanzer, M., &Adams, J. K. (1985). The mirror effect in recognition memory.Memory & Cognition,13, 8–20.
Green, D., &Swets, J. (1966).Signal detection theory and psychophysics. New York: Wiley.
Greene, R. L. (1999). The role of familiarity in recognition.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,6, 309–312.
Heathcote, A. (1988). Screen control and timing routines for the IBM microcomputer family using a high-level language.Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers,20, 289–297.
Hintzman, D. L. (1984). MINERVA 2: A simulation model of human memory.Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers,16, 96–101.
Homa, D. (1973). Organization and long-term memory search.Memory & Cognition,1, 369–379.
Johns, E. E., & Mewhort, D. J. K. (2002a, July).The evidence underlying correct rejections in short-term recognition memory. Paper presented at the conference on short-term/working memory, Quebec City.
Johns, E. E., &Mewhort, D. J. K. (2002b). What information underlies correct rejections in short-term recognition memory?Memory & Cognition,30, 46–59.
Kaminsky, C. A., &DeRosa, D. V. (1972). Influence of retrieval cues and set organization on short-term recognition memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology,96, 449–454.
Maddox, W. T., &Estes, W. K. (1997). Direct and indirect stimulusfrequency effects in recognition.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,23, 539–559.
Malmberg, K. J., Steyvers, M., Stephens, J. D., &Shiffrin, R. M. (2002). Feature frequency effects in recognition memory.Memory & Cognition,30, 607–613.
McElree, B., &Dosher, B. A. (1989). Serial position and set size in short-term memory: The time course of recognition.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,118, 346–373.
Mewhort, D. J. K., &Johns, E. E. (2000). The extralist-feature effect: A test of item matching in short-term recognition memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,129, 262–284.
Mewhort, D. J. K., & Johns, E. E. (in press). Sharpening the echo: An iterative-resonance model for short-term recognition memory.Memory.
Monsell, S. (1978). Recency, immediate recognition memory, and reaction time.Cognitive Psychology,4, 465–501.
Murdock, B. B., Jr. (1971). A parallel-processing model for scanning.Perception & Psychophysics,10, 289–291.
Murdock, B. B., Jr. (1982). A theory for the storage and retrieval of item and associative information.Psychological Review,89, 609–626.
Murdock, B. B., &Anderson, R. E. (1975). Coding, storage and retrieval of item information. In R. L. Solso (Ed.),Theories in cognitive psychology: The Loyola Symposium (pp. 145–194). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Naus, M. J. (1974). Memory search of categorized lists: A consideration of alternative self-terminating search strategies.Journal of Experimental Psychology,102, 992–1000.
Naus, M. J., Glucksberg, S., &Ornstein, P. A. (1972). Taxonomic word categories and memory search.Cognitive Psychology,3, 643- 654.
Norman, D. A., &Wickelgren, W. A. (1969). Strength theory of decision rules and latency in retrieval from short-term memory.Journal of Mathematical Psychology,6, 192–208.
Ratcliff, R. (1978). A theory of memory retrieval.Psychological Review,85, 59–108.
Ratcliff, R., &Hockley, W. E. (1980). Repeated negatives in item recognition: Non-monotonic lag functions. In R. S. Nickerson (Ed.),Attention and performance VII (pp. 555–573). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shiffrin, R. M., &Steyvers, M. (1997). A model for recognition memory: REM—retrieving effectively from memory.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,4, 145–166.
Sternberg, S. (1969). Memory-scanning: Mental processes revealed by reaction-time experiments.American Scientist,57, 421–457.
Theios, J., Smith, P. G., Haviland, S. E., Traupmann, J., &Moy, M. C. (1973). Memory scanning as a serial self-terminating process.Journal of Experimental Psychology,97, 323–336.
Townsend, J. T. (1971). A note on the identifiability of parallel and serial processes.Perception & Psychophysics,10, 161–163.
Tulving, E., &Kroll, N. (1995). Novelty assessment in the brain and long-term memory encoding.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,2, 387–390.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The research was supported by grants to D.J.K.M. from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and by an AEG grant from SUN Microsystems of Canada.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Johns, E.E., Mewhort, D.J.K. The effect of feature frequency on short-term recognition memory. Memory & Cognition 31, 285–296 (2003). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194387
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194387