Name: using a classroom-based deese roediger mcdermott paradigm to assess the effects of imagery on false memories
Uploaded: 2018-11-14T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories at JoVE.com

We send special thanks Dr. Mary Ann Foley and Dr. Karen Zabrucky for collaborative work on research projects informing our methodology in this paper.

All methods described here have been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Georgia State University.
1. Material Preparation
<ol>
	<li>Using the word lists attached in the supplemental materials, create four separate presentations: Imagery A, Imagery B, Non-imagery A, and Non-imagery B. Ensure that all four presentations are void of templates or designs, with white backgrounds and black font. The two list orders, A and B, serve to balance any effects of list order or fatigue. The two...

<ol>
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A., Cowan, E., Schlemmer, E., Belser-Ehrlich, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Acts+of+generating+and+their+sources:+Predicting+the+effects+of+imagery+encoding+on+false+recognition+errors.">Acts of generating and their sources: Predicting the effects of imagery encoding on false recognition errors.</a> Memory. 20 (4), 384-399 (2012).</li><li>Oliver, M., Bays, R. B., Zabrucky, K. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=False+memories+and+the+DRM+paradigm:+Effects+of+imagery,+list+and+test+type.">False memories and the DRM paradigm: Effects of imagery, list and test type.</a> TheJournal of General Psychology. 143 (1), 33-48 (2016).</li><li>Ballou, M. R., Sommers, M. 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A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Imagery+induction+processes+differentially+impact+imagination+inflation.">Imagery induction processes differentially impact imagination inflation.</a> Imagination, Cognition, and Personality. 35 (1), 5-25 (2015).</li><li>Wade, K. A., Garry, M., Read, J. D., Lindsay, D. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+picture+is+worth+a+thousand+lies:+Using+false+photographs+to+create+false+childhood+memories.">A picture is worth a thousand lies: Using false photographs to create false childhood memories.</a> Psychonomic Bulletin &amp; Review. 9 (3), 597-603 (2002).</li><li>Foley, M. A., Wozniak, K. 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The protocol employed in this study modified a widely used word list procedure, the Deese Roediger McDermott (DRM) paradigm, to assess the effects of associative processing with and without imagery instructions on false memories in a classroom-based procedure. The expansion to include the variables of list association type, test type, and imagery instruction implemented here afforded the ability to analyze how each of these complex factors influenced a learning context independently, as well as how they interacted, provi...

Memory is malleable and fallible, and these days people realize the limitations of their own memory system. But how do memory errors arise? What mechanisms are responsible for errors in memory retrieval? We modified a widely used and highly cited laboratory-based procedure called the Deese Roediger McDermott paradigm (DRM)1,2 to investigate the influence of different variables on memory errors. In traditional DRM procedures, participants are asked to learn lists of semantically related words (e.g., table, couch, desk, lamp, pillow, stool, bench, rocker). When later asked to recall and/or recognize the words from the lists, participants often report seeing words that were semantically related to the lists but not actually studied (e.g., chair). False memories for these words, referred to as critical lures, can occur 55% - 80% of the time in standard procedures2,3.
The Activation Monitoring Framework is often cited as a theoretical basis for memory errors that arise from the DRM paradigm. Specifically, DRM false memories are attributed to the dual processes of activation (i.e., the tendency for pieces of information currently active in working memory to &#34;spread&#34; and also activate other, related pieces of information) and monitoring (i.e., assessing the accuracy and/or source of something being remembered)5,6. The process of studying semantically related DRM lists causes activation to spread from the list words to the critical lure and thus activates the critical lure in working memory. The result is a false memory that may not be accurately monitored during later tasks.
The three-phase testing procedure inherent to the DRM paradigm allows cognitive psychologists to manipulate a number of variables during the process of encoding (study of the list items), retention (storage of the list items while completing a distractor task to disrupt working memory), or retrieval (a memory test), to better understand the specific processes that contribute to memory errors. Our procedure expands use of traditional DRM procedures to directly compare memory error rates for different types of content during encoding (e.g., semantically related versus phonologically related)9, test type during retrieval (e.g., a recall task versus a recognition task)10 and, perhaps most notably, imagery encoding processes during list study11,12,13,14.
Our primary interest in developing this protocol was to better understand possible effects of imagery on recall and recognition, particularly whether the effects of creating mental images of the list words during encoding (e.g., imagining them) would vary according to whether the list words were related to the critical lure according to sound (i.e., phonologically) or meaning (i.e., semantically). For instance, for the phonological list log, hog, dock, bog, fog, doll, frog, jog, and dot, the critical lure is dog. For the semantic list mug, saucer, tea, coaster, lid, coffee, straw, and soup, the critical lure is cup. We were interested in whether imaging the list words affected the associative processing for those lists differently. While traditional DRM word lists contain 12-15 semantically related list words2, our procedure employed 8-item word lists. These lists were modified from 16-item lists previously developed to investigate the converging effects of phonological and semantic word associations on false memories9. In order to adapt typical DRM procedures to include imagery instructions, we shortened the word lists by selecting the 8 words from each list that were easiest to create mental images of. This allowed for the elimination of less concrete words (e.g., pun, worst) that were hard to imagine. Additionally, we modified a computer-based word list presentation utilized in previous research15 to standardize the presentation of materials and also developed paper/pencil recall and recognition measures to more appropriately suit classroom environments.
Our results did not suggest an interaction between list association type and imagery procedures, but they did demonstrate the significant main effects of imagery and list type14. We pursued this line of inquiry because of the robust literature of imagination inflation effects suggesting enhanced feelings of belief and memory in past childhood events that are repeatedly imagined16,17,18. However, recently researchers suggest that perhaps not all imagery is created equal and that the nature of imagery instructions mediates the effects on false memory rates19. One possible limitation to the work assessing imagination inflation effects is inherent in the procedure itself. That is, participants are asked to provide Likert scale ratings of their confidence or belief in experiencing certain events in childhood, and following imagination of those events, ratings are provided a second time to assess changes (specifically increases) in those ratings. One possible problem with this procedure is a lack of control over the veracity of experiences that participants must identify with confidence ratings both prior to and after the imagery phase. In some studies, researchers consult family members for corroboration20; however, a majority of the research examining imagination inflation relies solely on the word of the participant.
DRM procedures offer methodological advantages over other memory paradigms, including imagination inflation procedures, because researchers maintain control over the content being activated in working memory through the design of the lists. Specifically, researchers select the list items according to their associative strength to the critical lure and can easily measure when a participant commits the targeted memory error (e.g., chair was not on the studied list but was recalled at test). This content control provides insight into processes that drive associative memory errors, affording researchers the opportunity to explore other potentially important factors driving false memory errors, such as the construction of visual images during list encoding21 or even elaborating on the list items to generate complex event narratives11.
This protocol employs a presentation administration of materials and a paper and pencil format of data collection that allows researchers to collect participant data in large groups (e.g., classrooms), while systematically varying variables. The accessibility and experimental control offered by this protocol provides an opportunity to teach students about memory processes with an in-class demonstration while reliably collecting data. Compared to laboratory-based DRM procedures, this context makes results more applicable to classroom learning, thus informing both cognitive science and educational psychology. In addition, this protocol provides optional modifications that can be utilized to remove the usage of imagery instructions or varying list types, thereby offering a construction-kit type approach that allows for more personalized use.

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using a classroom-based deese roediger mcdermott paradigm to assess the effects of imagery on false memories

Associated word list procedures can elicit false memories in predictable ways by inducing associative processing, thus making it harder to monitor the accuracy of memories. The purpose of the method presented here was to induce false memories using lists of either semantically or phonologically related words and to assess the effects of imagery instructions on the recall and recognition of those false memories. To do this, we used a modified version of the Deese Roediger McDermott (DRM) paradigm. We adapted word lists from previous DRM studies to suit imagery procedures and created an automated presentation to present the word lists in classroom settings. We then recruited undergraduate classes and instructed some of the classes to create mental images of the list words as they were being presented, while instructing the other classes to simply remember the words. The automated presentation presented word lists to participants, one word at a time, alternating between phonologically and semantically related lists. Participants used paper-pencil recall packets to immediately recall list items, complete a distractor activity, and take a subsequent final recognition test. Often, participants immediately recalled and later recognized words that were related to the list items but were not actually presented; these are known as critical lures and indicate a false memory. The protocol detailed here describes a four-step procedure - list presentation, immediate recall, distractor phase, and final recognition - that can assess the effects of list type and imagery instruction within the DRM paradigm on memory. The automated nature of the list presentation provides the ability to systematically vary variables of interest, and the paper and pencil method of data collection affords an easily accessible method for collecting data in classroom settings. The protocol also offers options to modify the procedure to a more traditional DRM paradigm without imagery and/or list type manipulations. The use of this protocol can provide results relevant to both classroom learning and cognitive science principles.

Effects of DRM Procedures on False Memories: Standard DRM Instructions without Imagery 
To illustrate standard DRM procedures&#39; ability to induce false memories, we analyzed rates of falsely remembering non-list words during recall and recognition. Table 1 reports proportions for the different types of false remembering that occurred during recall and recognition. During immediate recall, participants recalled unpresented words on 20% of the lists...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories at JoVE.com

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

The method presented here induced false memories using lists of related words and also assessed the effects of imagery instructions on the recall and recognition of those false memories. This protocol details a modified version of the Deese Roediger McDermott (DRM) paradigm.

Associated word list procedures can elicit false memories in predictable ways by inducing associative processing, thus making it harder to monitor the ...

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