There has long been interest in the effect of repetition on memory amongst cognitive psychologists. A major area of research has examined how repetition at study improves encoding and subsequent memory performance. Another focus in the literature has been on manipulating fluency at retrieval to influence feelings of familiarity, with item repetition at test inducing a classic false recognition effect. Examination of these disparate areas of research hints that similar mechanisms may be operational in producing effects of repetition at study and repetition at test. Work from the false recognition literature suggests that items are more likely to be classified as “old” if they are made to be fluent at test. In other words, fluency may be used as a cue to indicate that information is already known. This fluency attribution process may also influence encoding: if increased fluency signals that information is known, then there may be no need to encode that information. The empirical goal of this thesis was first to better understand the impact of repetition on encoding, and then to better understand the role of fluency when both learning and retrieving information. This thesis documents some of the first examples of a counter-intuitive repetition decrement effect, in which items seen a single time are better remembered than items seen twice in succession. Evidence connecting this repetition decrement effect to effects of false recognition is presented, with the suggestion of a common process leading to these two memory effects. More important, this thesis demonstrates the impact of fluency at both encoding and retrieval, and can allow for better understanding of how human cognition operates on a daily basis. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/23458 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Rosner, Tamara |
| Contributors | Milliken, Bruce, Psychology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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