Strength and resistance to interference in practiced recognition: memory retrieval abilities investigated through latent structure modeling.
Participants (N = 811) practiced paired-associate recognition with and without an interference manipulation and then practiced a pattern recognition skill in which patterns discriminated had features in common. Structure models of the covariances in task reaction times indicated two factors or abilities. The first was a baseline factor, hypothesized to include the ability to strengthen traces and other abilities common to all tasks. The second was a resistance-to-interference factor, or the ability to quickly retrieve associations with elements in common with nonretrieved associations. Further modeling on a subset of the sample (n = 434) showed the baseline factor to reflect a memory strength ability independent of other confounding abilities (e.g., motor, reading abilities). Both memory abilities are discussed broadly with respect to cognitive skill acquisition, controlled versus automatic processing, and activation.
Chaiken
S R
SR
Air Force Research Laboratory, Brooks Air Force Base, USA. scott.chaiken@.brooks.af.mil
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010153:Paired-Associate Learning; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D021641:Recognition, Psychology