HOW MEMORY FOR AN EVENT IS INFLUENCED BY RELATED EVENTS - INTERFERENCE IN MODIFIED RECOGNITION TESTS

How is memory for a target event impaired by learning related events? The present experiments addressed the question by showing nature pictures (targets) that were followed by related pictures (experimental items) or by unrelated pictures (control items). When instructed to choose the studied picture over a new distractor, performance was more accurate for control items than for experimental items (RI) at a 15-min retention interval (Experiments 1, 4, and 5). Because the RI decreased and was negligible within 48 hr (Experiment 2), the original trace could not have been displaced or altered by the related events. Further, if the related events had created traces that competed or were confused with the target, then interference would also be expected when the related pictures preceded the target (PI). However, no PI was found either after 15 min (Experiments 3, 4, and 5) or after 48 hr (Experiment 6). Alternate interpretations are offered to explain the findings.