Does survival context enhance memory for source? A within-subjects comparison
Nairne, Thompson, and Pandeirada [2007. Adaptive memory: Survival processing enhances retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33, 263–273] demonstrated that processing words according to their relevance to a survival scenario enhanced
their subsequent retrieval in recall and recognition tasks compared to a variety of control scenarios. From an adaptive perspective, it is maintained that processing words in a survival context should also enhance memory for source; however, evidence in the literature is rather mixed regarding
a survival context advantage for source memory. In the current study, we conducted four experiments to systematically investigate the survival advantage in source memory, when the context itself is the source, with both recall (Experiments 1A and 1B) and recognition tests (Experiments 2A and
2B). Results showed a survival advantage for item memory over the control contexts in all experiments. The survival context advantage was not extended to source memory performance in Experiment 1A. Results from all other experiments, however, indicated a survival context advantage for both
item and source memory. Findings are discussed in relation to possible proximate mechanisms underlying the survival processing effect.
Keywords: Survival context; adaptive memory; item memory; source memory; survival processing
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey 2: Department of Psychology, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Ankara, Turkey
Publication date: 03 July 2019
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content