Effects of familiarity level and repetition on recognition accuracy.
Theories of recognition memory based on signal detection theory posit that a recognition decision is similar to a psychophysical judgment. Like a judgment of stimulus brightness or loudness, a recognition judgment is based on the value of a unidimensional signal computed for the test item. This signal has been called the strength or familiarity value. One prediction of these models is that the ability to discriminate between a studied and nonstudied test item depends on the ability to detect the difference in their familiarities. This ability in turn is influenced by the items' familiarity levels; discrimination should become more difficult as the familiarity of both items increases. This prediction was supported in 3 experiments using a forced-choice procedure. Also, accuracy was higher when the list contained repeated items rather than a comparable number of distinct items.
Case Western Reserve University, USA. atussing@knox.edu
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Tussing
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Greene
D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D011582:Psychological Theory; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological / Q000502:physiology