Retrieval-based illusory recollections: Why study-test contextual changes impair source memory

Abstract

Illusory source recollections can be manufactured purely by the conditions at retrieval. At encoding, individuals listened to words spoken by a male or a female voice and later, at retrieval, determined who initially had spoken the test word or whether it was a new word. In Experiment 1, individuals were instructed during the memory test to make a response of male or female only if they clearly recollected the speaker presenting the item during encoding and to respond don't remember otherwise. Presenting test words with the same voice (match condition) as the one that had presented the word at encoding, a different voice (mismatch condition), or no test voice had no effect on the rate of responding don't remember. Instead, matching and mismatching test voices created illusory recollections that were consistent with the test voice. Experiment 2 yielded similar results with a remember/know source test. In this article, a theory is proposed that explains the illusory recollection effects, and a multinomial model and procedure are used to separate and measure the contributions of source discrimination and illusory recollections to performance. Copyright 2007 Psychonomic Society, Inc.