Word frequency and memory: effects on absolute versus relative order memory and on item memory versus order memory.
Word frequency can produce opposite effects on recognition and order memory: Low-frequency words produce greater recognition accuracy, whereas high-frequency words produce superior order memory. The present experiments further delineate the relationship between word frequency and order memory. Experiment 1 indicates that low-frequency words produce worse performance on a measure of absolute order memory but not on a test of relative order, which is consistent with the idea that different forms of information underlie different types of order judgments (Greene, Thapar, & Westerman, 1998). Experiment 2 contrasted high-, low-, and very low-frequency words on recognition memory and absolute order memory. In comparison with high-frequency words, low-frequency words enhanced recognition, whereas very low-frequency words did not. Both low- and very low-frequency words, however, produced worse memory for absolute order. Thus, the relationship between frequency and item memory is an inverted U-shaped function, whereas the relationship between frequency and absolute order memory is direct. This implies that the item-enhancing effects of lower word frequency may be dissociated from its order-disrupting effects.
Mulligan
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NW
Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0442, USA. mulligan@mail.smu.edu
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012691:Serial Learning; D014825:Vocabulary