ERIC Number: EJ742333
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Generation and Context Memory
Mulligan, Neil W.; Lozito, Jeffrey P.; Rosner, Zachary A.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v32 n4 p836-846 Jul 2006
Generation enhances memory for occurrence but may not enhance other aspects of memory. The present study further delineates the negative generation effect in context memory reported in N. W. Mulligan (2004). First, the negative generation effect occurred for perceptual attributes of the target item (its color and font) but not for extratarget aspects of context (location and background color). Second, nonvisual generation tasks with either semantic or nonsemantic generation rules (antonym and rhyme generation, respectively) produced the same pattern of results. In contrast, a visual (or data-driven) generation task (letter transposition) did not disrupt context memory for color. Third, generating nonwords produced no effect on item memory but persisted in producing a negative effect on context memory for target attributes, implying that (a) the negative generation effect in context memory is not mediated by semantic encoding, and (b) the negative effect on context memory can be dissociated from the positive effect on item memory. The results are interpreted in terms of the processing account of generation. The original, perceptual-conceptual version of this account is too narrow, but a modified processing account, based on a more generic visual versus nonvisual processing distinction, accommodates the results.
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Age Differences, Memory, Color, Context Effect, Cognitive Development, Semantics, Visual Stimuli, Language Processing
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A