Irrelevant background context decreases mnemonic discrimination and increases false memory.

ABSTRACT: One of the greatest commonplaces in memory research is that context improves recall and enhances or leaves recognition intact. Here we present results which draw attention to the fact that the reappearance of irrelevant and unattended background contexts of encoding significantly impairs memory discrimination functions. This manuscript presents the results of two experiments in which participants made indoor/outdoor judgements for a large number of object images presented together with individual, irrelevant and presumably unattended background scenes. On a subsequent unexpected recognition test participants saw the incidentally encoded target objects, visually similar lures or new foil objects on the same or new background scenes. Our results showed that although the reappearance of the b

SUBMITTER: Racsmany M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7973510 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature