DISTINCTIVENESS IN RECOGNITION AND FREE-RECALL - THE ROLE OF RECOLLECTION IN THE REJECTION OF THE FAMILIAR

Dual process models of recognition have identified two underlying proc esses which contribute to recognition performance: recollection, which involves the retrieval of qualitative information regarding an event occurrence, and familiarity, which represents a generalized feeling of prior occurrence. It has been proposed that recognition and free reca ll may be related because both involve the retrieval of qualitative ev ent information. To examine this possibility. we compared recognition and free recall under different levels of word frequency, presentation frequency, and distinctiveness of semantic encoding. All three variab les dissociated across recognition and recall. Most importantly, shift ing the semantic orienting task between preexposure and study lists gr eatly facilitated recognition, yet left free recall unaffected. This b enefit occurred primarily because the shift enabled subjects to more e fficiently reject distractors that were familiar as a result of preexp osure, but not encoded on the appropriate dimension. Since subjects in recall conditions were not prone to intrusions as a function of preex posure, and. in fact, could not intentionally provide sizable numbers of these items, such a selection mechanism was unnecessary. The curren t Endings, in conjunction with those from process dissociation studies , emphasize the role of recollection in terms of selective responding in the presence of highly familiar competitors. Retrieved information which is not distinctive cannot serve as a basis for excluding alterna tive sources, and therefore will not contribute to performance nor be reflected in estimates of recollection. As a result, recollection esti mates may often diverge from free recall performance. (C) 1998 Academi c Press.