The effect of feature frequency on short-term recognition memory

Abstract

We report two experiments using Sternberg's (1969) multitrial recognition-memory paradigm. We used colored shapes as stimuli and manipulated the frequency of the shapes (but not of the colors) across trials. For lures containing an extralist shape (i.e., a shape not studied in the current study list), responses were faster if the shape had occurred infrequently than if it had occurred frequently in the preceding trials. For lures containing an extralist color and a studied shape, by contrast, the frequency of the shape in the preceding trials was irrelevant. We conclude that correct rejections depend solely on contradictory evidence. Furthermore, low-frequency target items were recognized more easily than high-frequency targets. Both the interaction of frequency with the features of the lures and the main effect of frequency for the targets are problematic for current accounts of recognition.