STOP SHOUTING AT ME: The Influence of Case and Self-Referencing on Explicit and Implicit Memory

Frontiers in Psychology

article

George O. Ilenikhena¹  Haajra Narmawala¹  Allison M. Sklenar¹  Matthew P. McCurdy¹  Angela H. Gutchess²  Eric D. Leshikar¹ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States;Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, United States

关键词: self-reference;    explicit memory;    implicit memory;    item memory;    context memory;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.685756

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Evidence suggests that physical changes in word appearance, such as those written in all capital letters, and the use of effective encoding strategies, such as self-referential processing, improves memory. In this study we examined the extent both physical changes in word appearance (case) and encoding strategies engaged at study influence memory as measured by both explicit and implicit memory measures. Participants studied words written in upper and lower case under three encoding conditions (self-reference, semantic control, case judgment), which was followed by an implicit (word stem completion) and then an explicit (item and context) memory test. There were two primary results. First, analyses indicated a case enhancement effect for item memory where words written in upper case were better remembered than lower case, but only when participants were prompted to attend to the case of the word. Importantly, this case enhancement effect came at a cost to context memory for words written in upper case. Second, self-referencing increased explicit memory performance relative to control, but there was no effect on implicit memory. Overall, results suggest an item-context memory trade-off for words written in upper case, highlighting a potential downside to writing in all capital letters, and further, that both physical changes to the appearance of words and differing encoding strategies have a strong influence on explicit, but not implicit memory.

【 授权许可】

CC BY