Abstract

A surprising validation of expectation experienced during a recognition test induces the perception of discrepancy and a feeling of familiarity. The authors investigated whether that perception also affects memory performance when it is experienced in the original encounter with a stimulus. Target words were presented in a study phase, half in a context thought to induce the perception of discrepancy. In a subsequent recognition test, that earlier experience increased the accuracy of subjects’ discrimination. However, when the subsequent task required a once-versus-twice judgment, that experience caused an illusion of reoccurrence for words presented once. The authors concluded that a perception of discrepancy in an initial encounter may be a valuable aid to later recognition but can also cause systematic memory errors under some circumstances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Kronlund (Mantonakis), Antonia and Bruce W. A. Whittlesea. “Remembering after a Perception of Discrepancy: Out with the Old, in with the Two.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 32.5 (2006): 1174-1184. Print.
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