Memory Resources Recover Gradually over Time: The Effects of Word Frequency, Presentation Rate, and List Composition on Binding Errors and Mnemonic Precision in Source Memory

Autor/inn/en	Popov, Vencislav; So, Matthew; Reder, Lynne M.
Titel	Memory Resources Recover Gradually over Time: The Effects of Word Frequency, Presentation Rate, and List Composition on Binding Errors and Mnemonic Precision in Source Memory
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 48 (2022) 9, S.1263-1280 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Popov, Vencislav) ORCID (Reder, Lynne M.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0278-7393
DOI	10.1037/xlm0001072
Schlagwörter	Short Term Memory; Word Frequency; Error Patterns; Mnemonics; Accuracy; Recall (Psychology); Cues; College Students; Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kurzzeitgedächtnis; Word analysis; Frequency; Wortanalyse; Häufigkeit; Fehlertyp; Mnemotechnik; Abberufung; Stichwort; Collegestudent
Abstract	Normative word frequency has played a key role in the study of human memory, but there is little agreement as to the mechanism responsible for its effects. To determine whether word frequency affects binding probability or memory precision, we used a continuous reproduction task to examine working memory for spatial positions of words. In three experiments, after studying a list of five words, participants had to report the spatial location of one of them on a circle. Across experiments we varied word frequency, presentation rate, and the proportion of low-frequency words on each trial. A mixture model dissociated memory precision, binding failure, and guessing rate parameters from the continuous distribution of errors. On trials that contained only low- or only high-frequency words, low-frequency words led to a greater degree of error in recalling the associated location. This was due to a higher word-location binding failure and not due to differences in memory precision or guessing rates. Slowing down the presentation rate eliminated the word frequency effect by reducing binding failures for low-frequency words. Mixing frequencies in a single trial hurt high-frequency and helped low-frequency words. These findings support the idea that word frequency can lead to both positive and negative mnemonic effects depending on a trade-off between an HF encoding advantage and a LF retrieval cue advantage. We suggest that (1) low-frequency words require more resources for binding, (2) that these resources recover gradually over time, and that (3) binding fails when these resources are insufficient. (As Provided).
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Update	2024/1/01