Familiarity, but not recollection, supports the between-subject production effect in recognition memory

• Published in: Canadian journal of experimental psychology Vol. 70; no. 2; p. 99
• Main Authors: Fawcett, Jonathan M, Ozubko, Jason D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada 01-06-2016
• Subjects: Adult; Humans; Mental Recall - physiology; Reading; Recognition, Psychology - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1878-7290
• DOI: 10.1037/cep0000089

Five experiments explored the basis of the between-subjects production effect in recognition memory as represented by differences in the recollection and familiarity of produced (read aloud) and nonproduced (read silently) words. Using remember-know judgments (Experiment 1b) and a dual-process signal-detection approach applied to confidence ratings (Experiments 2b and 3), we observed that production influences familiarity but not recollection when manipulated between-subjects. This is in contrast to within-subject designs, which reveal a clear effect of production on both recollection and familiarity (Experiments 1a and 2a). Our findings resolve contention concerning apparent design effects: Whereas the within-subject production effect is subserved by separable recollective- and familiarity-based components, the between-subjects production effect is subserved by the familiarity-based component alone. Our findings support a role for the relative distinctiveness of production as a means of guiding recognition judgments (at least when manipulated within-subjects), but we also propose that production influences the strength of produced items, explaining the persistence of the effect in between-subjects designs. (PsycINFO Database Record