title: Response set effects in recognition memory.
abstract: In three experiments, Ss responded to individual digits or letters according to whether or not each was in some prememorized list. There were either two possible responses (yes-no condition) or a single response (yes-only and no-only conditions). With memory sets of one, two, or four digits, RT was a linear function of memory set size. The slope of the function was least under the yes-only condition and greatest under the yes-no condition. Nonspecific practice had little effect on any of the slopes. With memory sets of 4, 8, or 12 letters, the slopes under the yes-only and yes-no conditions did not seem to differ, and practice with specific sets flattened the function considerably in both cases. Overall, the errors under the yes-no condition were mostly false alarms, those under the no-only condition mostly misses, and those under the yes-no condition were divided about equally. The results are interpreted partially in terms of a multiple-observations model of decision time.
authors.affiliation: McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Corballis
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Roldan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zbrodoff