INDIRECT MEMORY PERFORMANCE IS NOT SENSITIVE TO A SHIFT OF LOCAL CONTEXT

The question of whether local context information affects unaware memo ry for complex patterns was investigated in two experiments using vari ants of an indirect memory measure in the form of complexity judgement s. Similar to the use of pleasantness ratings as an indirect memory me asure where studied items are judged to be more pleasant than new item s, previously studied patterns were expected to be perceived as less c omplex than new patterns. Contextual information was formed by placing line drawings of common objects around abstract patterns. The effect of context on indirect memory performance was assessed by comparing co mplexity judgements for patterns that retained their object surround b etween study and test with patterns that were re-paired with a differe nt, but previously studied, object surround between study and test. Bo th experiments showed that while aware memory, measured by recognition performance, was reduced by a change of context, the indirect memory measures were not affected in this way. The idea that unaware memory m ay not have access to this type of novel context-target link is discus sed.