False recognition in DRM lists with three critical words: Forward vs. Backward association.

Abstract

False recognition (FR) was studied in one experiment using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Specifically, the differential contributions of forward associative strength and backward associative strength were analyzed, together with an analysis of the role played by the associative level of the lists on this kind of memory illusion. Materials consisted of 16 lists, each was formed by 6 to-be-remembered associates and 3 critical, never studied, words. Eight lists were constructed on the basis of forward associative strength, and the other 8 lists were constructed on the basis of backward associative strength. In all cases, the lists were matched for level of association, and further divided into two sets, to obtain comparable lists of each type with high and low associative levels. The results showed that, globally, DRM lists with 3 critical words produced robust levels of false recognition, rendering them appropriate for experimental procedures that require more than one critical trial per list. A comparison of the different types of lists revealed that false recognition with low forward-associative-strength lists (19.50%) was significantly lower than with the other 3 types of lists (low and high backward-associative-strength, and high forward-associative-strength), for which false recognition exceeded 42%.