In three experiments the conditions under which serial position effects might be obtained in recognition measures of memory for complex pictorial stimuli were explored. A two-alternative, forced-choice probe recognition test was employed to assess the retention of complex pictures. In addition, memory for the serial position of a picture in a list was measured. In Experiments 1 and 2, recognition of pictures was assessed after varying numbers of presentations of a study list to determine whether serial position effects are obtained as a function of prior familiarity with target stimuli. Recognition of pictures was found to deteriorate gradually as a function of serial position with no evidence for a recency effect. Repeated study of a list improved performance on the retention test but did not interact with serial position. / The purpose of Experiment 3 was to assess the effect that loss of episodic information (e.g., where and in which list a picture had been seen) might have on recognition memory as a function of serial position. Episodic forgetting was enhanced by the presentation of pictures in several different lists. A two-alternative, forced-choice test that contained both the target picture and a picture that occurred in an earlier list was employed to assess the effect of episodic forgetting. Recognition performance was affected by the different types of test used in Experiment 3. However, there was no change in recognition performance as a function of serial position. / In contrast to the relatively flat serial position functions obtained for the recognition of target pictures, bow-shaped serial position functions demonstrating both primacy and recency effects were obtained for the retention of serial order information in all three experiments. It was concluded that although there is evidence for elaborative post-stimulus processing of visual information (e.g., Graefe & Watkins, 1980; Intraub, 1980; Weaver & Stanny, 1978), this processing is probably terminated when a new to-be-remembered picture appears. Furthermore, it is suggested that maintenance rehearsal cannot be given to complex pictorial stimuli. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, Section: B, page: 1214. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74452 |
| Contributors | STANNY, CLAUDIA J., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 94 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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