Why it's easier to remember seeing a face we already know than one we don't: preexisting memory representations facilitate memory formation.
Publication/Presentation Date
3-1-2013
Abstract
In two experiments, we provided support for the hypothesis that stimuli with preexisting memory representations (e.g., famous faces) are easier to associate to their encoding context than are stimuli that lack long-term memory representations (e.g., unknown faces). Subjects viewed faces superimposed on different backgrounds (e.g., the Eiffel Tower). Face recognition on a surprise memory test was better when the encoding background was reinstated than when it was swapped with a different background; however, the reinstatement advantage was modulated by how many faces had been seen with a given background, and reinstatement did not improve recognition for unknown faces. The follow-up experiment added a drug intervention that inhibited the ability to form new associations. Context reinstatement did not improve recognition for famous or unknown faces under the influence of the drug. The results suggest that it is easier to associate context to faces that have a preexisting long-term memory representation than to faces that do not.
Volume
24
Issue
3
First Page
363
Last Page
372
ISSN
1467-9280
Published In/Presented At
Reder, L. M., Victoria, L. W., Manelis, A., Oates, J. M., Dutcher, J. M., Bates, J. T., Cook, S., Aizenstein, H. J., Quinlan, J., & Gyulai, F. (2013). Why it's easier to remember seeing a face we already know than one we don't: preexisting memory representations facilitate memory formation. Psychological science, 24(3), 363–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612457396
Disciplines
Anesthesiology | Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
23395827
Department(s)
Department of Anesthesiology
Document Type
Article