Process dissociation of familiarity and recollection in children: response deadline affects recollection but not familiarity

Laura Koenig; Marina C Wimmer; Timothy J Hollins

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.003

Process dissociation of familiarity and recollection in children: response deadline affects recollection but not familiarity

J Exp Child Psychol. 2015 Mar:131:120-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.003. Epub 2014 Dec 26.

Authors

Laura Koenig¹, Marina C Wimmer², Timothy J Hollins²

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Cognition Institute, Plymouth University, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. Electronic address: laura.koenig@plymouth.ac.uk.
² School of Psychology, Cognition Institute, Plymouth University, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.

PMID: 25544395
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.003

Abstract

According to dual-process theories, recollection (slow and associated with contextual details) and familiarity (fast and automatic) are two independent processes underlying recognition memory. An adapted version of the process dissociation paradigm was used to measure recognition memory in 5-, 7-, and 11-year-olds and adults. In Experiment 1, it was found that 5-year-olds already recollect details of items (i.e., number). Recollection increased particularly between 5 and 7 years. Familiarity differed between 5 years and adulthood. In Experiment 2, under limited response time during retrieval, recollection was eliminated in 5-year-olds and reduced across all ages, whereas familiarity was left unaffected. Together, these findings are consistent with dual-process theories of recognition memory and provide support for two processes underlying recognition memory from a developmental perspective.

Keywords: Dual-process theory; Familiarity; Process dissociation; Recognition memory; Recollection; Source monitoring.

MeSH terms

Adult
Age Factors
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Processes*
Mental Recall*
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Reaction Time
Recognition, Psychology*
Task Performance and Analysis
Young Adult