Separating habit and recollection: memory slips, process dissociations, and probability matching.
Memory slips are errors in performance that result when an automatic basis for responding (e.g., habit) opposes the intention to perform a specific behavior. Prior research has focused on factors that influence the probability of a memory slip while neglecting factors that facilitate performance. Using L. L. Jacoby's (1991) process-dissociation procedure to examine performance in both a memory-slip and a facilitation condition, the authors separated the contribution of habit and recollection (intentional memory) in a cued-recall task. The authors found that manipulating the strength of habit affected its contribution to performance in a manner that produced probability matching, but recollection was unchanged. In contrast, manipulations of presentation rate and response time influenced recollection but did not affect habit. Such dissociations support a model of memory in which automatic and intentional influences make independent contributions to performance.
Hay
J F
JF
Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. hayj@mac.psychology.mcmaster.ca
Jacoby
L L
LL
D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders; D011939:Mental Recall; D010775:Photic Stimulation