Individual differences in false recall: A latent variable analysis

The relation between intrusions in several different recall tasks was examined in the current study. Intrusions from these tasks were moderately correlated and formed a unitary intrusion factor. This factor was related to other cognitive ability measures including working memory capacity, judgments of recency, and general source-monitoring ability. Individual differences in source-monitoring ability fully mediated the relation between working memory capacity, judgments of recency, and intrusions in recall. Theoretically, individual differences in false recall may result, in part, from differences in preretrieval and post-retrieval source-monitoring processes in addition to lure activation. Future models of false recall should integrate theses source-monitoring mechanisms to fully account for various intrusions that occur in standard recall tasks.