Semantic similarity dissociates short- from long-term recency effects: testing a neurocomputational model of list memory.
The finding that recency effects can occur not only in immediate free recall (i.e., short-term recency) but also in the continuous-distractor task (ie., long-term recency) has led many theorists to reject the distinction between short- and long-term memory stores. Recently, we have argued that long-term recency effects do not undermine the concept of a short-term store, and we have presented a neurocomputational model that accounts for both short- and long-term recency and for a series of dissociations between these two effects. Here, we present a new dissociation between short- and long-term recency based on semantic similarity, which is predicted by our model. This dissociation is due to the mutual support between associated items in the short-term store, which takes place in immediate free recall and delayed free recall but not in continuous-distractor free recall.
Davelaar
Eddy J
EJ
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA. edavelaar@psyc.umd.edu
Haarmann
Henk J
HJ
Goshen-Gottstein
Yonatan
Y
Usher
Marius
M
D001143:Arousal; D001288:Attention; D003463:Cues; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D010153:Paired-Associate Learning; D011340:Problem Solving; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012660:Semantics; D014706:Verbal Learning