Distinctive information and false recognition: The contribution of encoding and retrieval factors

Four experiments evaluated the role of encoding-based and retrieval-based factors in the production of false recognition. The association of unusual fonts with study items, the match between study and test font, and the duration of retrieval time allotted to subjects to make recognition memory decisions were varied in order to examine the role encoding and retrieval play. The combined results of these experiments suggest that both encoding and retrieval are important for understanding false recognition. Additionally, the results of these studies suggest that visual features encountered at encoding can become associated with representations of unstudied items. This association, in turn, can lead to inflated levels of false recognition when unstudied items are tested in a visual format experienced at encoding or when participants utilize monitoring processes to search memory for evidence of perceptual information encountered during encoding.