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Research on human memory has increased significantly in the last few decades. Inconsistencies and controversies inherent to such research, however, are rarely articulated on published reports. The goal of the present article is to present and discuss a series of open questions related to major topics on human memory research that can be addressed by future research. The topics covered here are visual working memory, recognition memory, emotion and memory interaction, and methodological issues of false memories studies. Overall, the present work reveals a series of open questions and alternative analysis which could be useful for the process of hypothesis generation, and consequently for the design and implementation of future research on human memory.
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Estudos de Psicologia
DOI: 10.5935/1678-4669.20160010 ISSN (versão eletrônica): 1678-4669 Acervo disponível em www.scielo.br/epsic
Human memory research: Current hypotheses and new
perspecves
Antônio Jaeger. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
Cesar Alexis Galera. Universidade de São Paulo (Ribeirão Preto).
Lilian Milnitsky Stein. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul.
Ederaldo José Lopes. Universidade Federal de Uberlândia.
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
Palavras-chave: memória; memória humana; hipóteses.
Resumo
Pesquisa em memória humana: Hipóteses atuais e novas perspectivas. A pesquisa em memória humana aumentou
signicavamente nas úlmas décadas. Inconsistências e controvérsias inerentes a pesquisas com este foco, entretanto, são
raramente arculadas nas publicações especializadas. O objevo do presente argo é apresentar e discur uma série de questões
abertas relacionadas aos principais tópicos de pesquisa em memória humana, e que podem vir a ser abordados por pesquisas
futuras. Os tópicos abordados no presente estudo são memória operacional visual, memória de reconhecimento, interação
entre emoção e memórias e aspectos metodológicos do estudo de falsas memórias. De forma geral, o presente trabalho revela
uma série de questões em aberto e análises alternavas que podem ser úteis para o processo de geração de hipóteses, e
consequentemente para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas futuras sobre a memória humana.
Abstract
Research on human memory has increased signicantly in the last few decades. Inconsistencies and controversies inherent to
such research, however, are rarely arculated on published reports. The goal of the present arcle is to present and discuss a
series of open quesons related to major topics on human memory research that can be addressed by future research. The
topics covered here are visual working memory, recognion memory, emoon and memory interacon, and methodological
issues of false memories studies. Overall, the present work reveals a series of open quesons and alternave analysis which
could be useful for the process of hypothesis generaon, and consequently for the design and implementaon of future research
on human memory.
Keywords: memory; human memory; hypotheses.
Resumen
Invesgación en la memoria humana: Hipótesis actuales y nuevas perspecvas. La invesgación en la memoria humana ha
aumentado signicavamente en las úlmas décadas. Las inconsistencias y controversias inherentes a la invesgación con este
enfoque, sin embargo, rara vez se arculan en publicaciones especializadas. El objevo de este trabajo es presentar y discur
una serie de cuesones abiertas relacionadas con los temas principales de la invesgación en la memoria humana, y que pueden
ser abordados por invesgaciones futuras. Los temas tratados en este estudio son la memoria de trabajo visual, la memoria de
reconocimiento, la interacción entre la emoción y las memorias y los aspectos metodológicos del estudio de las falsas memorias.
En general, este estudio revela una serie de cuesones abiertas y alternavas de análisis que pueden ser úles para el proceso
de generación de hipótesis, y en consecuencia para el desarrollo de futuras invesgaciones sobre la memoria humana.
Palabras clave: memoria; memoria humana; hipótesis.
93
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
Hypotheses in human memory research
Research on human memory has greatly
proliferated in the last few decades. Such intense
proliferaon, however, may paradoxically overshadow
some unanswered quesons in the eld of memory
research. While this increase in volume of research may
supply interested readers with an abundance of data
and results, it may not necessarily be helpful in terms
of revealing for him or her the main controversies and
inconsistencies in the eld. Thus, our goal in this paper
is to discuss some hypotheses that we consider central
to the advance of the study of human memory from a
cognive psychology perspecve. Instead of focusing on
new data, we pursued to reveal a set of controversies and
open quesons in the eld of human memory research.
Such controversies and open quesons, we believe, may
be useful as bases for generang hypothesis for future
research (McGuire, 1997).
The first controversy we approach concerns
current theories of visual working memory. We
discuss unexpected eects in visual working memory
tasks apparently generated by task-irrelevant visual
informaon (Logie, 1995; 2011). That is, task-irrelevant
visual informaon causes deleterious eects on working
memory capacities for information that cannot be
semancally encoded. Smuli that can be semancally
encoded, on the other hand, tend to be more resistant
to such visual interference. This nding, nonetheless, is
not consistently replicated, and characteriscs of task
and smulus may underlie such inconsistency. Thus, we
suggest that an important approach for future research
is to idenfy smuli dimensions that can be determinant
to make such short-term visual representaons either
resistant or suscepble to irrelevant visual inputs.
Another topic concerns the debate about single-
versus dual-process theories of recognion memory
(Wixted, 2007; Yonelinas, 2002). To study recognion
memory, researchers usually let parcipants encode
a set of items (i.e., targets), and later discriminate
them from novel items (i.e., distracters). According to
single-process theories, such discriminaon process is
based primarily on a strength-like signal of familiarity,
whereas according to dual-process theories, such
discrimination is typically based on a combination
of familiarity signal with addional contextual and
detailed episodic information. These conflicting
approaches provide dierent predicons regarding
behavioral performance, and we discuss the potenal
corroboraon (or refutaon) of such predicons by
experimental ndings.
We discuss several unresolved issues concerning
the interacon between emoon and memory in the
secon Emoon and Memory Accuracy of the present
arcle. We discuss rst the parallel increase in memory
accuracy for central and decrease for peripheral details
of emotional events (Pickel, 2007); a phenomenon
oen termed “weapon focus eect”. Although several
studies have shown that emotional information is
more memorable than neutral informaon (Hamann,
2001), the former also appears to be more suscepble
to distoron. Another important topic discussed in the
referred secon, is the methodological limitaons of
extant studies invesgang the interacon between
memory and emoon. Such methodological limitaons
should be carefully approached by future research. In
this secon, we also approach predicons concerning
the inuence of emoon on false memories based on the
Fuzzy-Trace Theory, emphasizing its theorecal relevance
for further research.
Finally, we consider current data analysis
approaches to false memory, and suggest that systemac
analysis of reacon mes could be a successful approach
for future research. Reacon mes data has been rarely
implemented on false memory studies, such as the DRM
paradigm (Roediger & McDermo, 1995). Balota and Yap
(2011) have already shown that reacon me analysis
could have the potenal of bringing relevant advances
for the eld.
In sum, we approach several topics on memory
research in the following secons. In contrast to a typical
review arcle, however, these topics are discussed in
terms of their unanswered quesons, inconsistencies,
and controversial issues. We expect that the discussion
of such issues movate the generaon of new hypothesis
for future research, and consequently help to advance
the comprehension of human memory.
Working Memory and Irrelevant Visual Input
The visual working memory construct (VWM), as
proposed by Logie (1995), contains two structures, the
visual cache and the inner scribe. The visual cache, or
visual short-term store, stores visual representaons, as
color and shape of smuli. The inner scribe, on the other
hand, stores spaal informaon and is responsible for
the rehearsal of the visuo-spaal content stored in the
visual cache. The VWM is analogous to the phonological
memory construct proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974;
see also Baddeley, 1986) containing two subsystems, a
passive store directly accessed by sensory phonological
A. Jaeger, C. A. Galera, L.M. Stein, E.J. Lopes
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
94
informaon (Salamé & Baddeley, 1982), and a rehearsal
process that maintains informaon acve in the passive
store. Unlike the phonological memory model, however,
visual sensory informaon cannot reach the visual cache
directly (Logie, 2011). Representaons stored in the
visual cache are acquired through vision, tacle or verbal
descripons of environmental scenes, and interpreted
according to long-term based knowledge. These
representaons contain, in abstract form, the necessary
informaon to reconstruct visual mental images that can
be inspected and manipulated consciously.
The proposal that visual informaon reaches
the visual cache indirectly has been put into queson
in theorecal grounds (Baddeley, 2007; Pearson, 2001;
Quinn, 2008, 2012) and in experimental studies using
irrelevant visual input techniques. One such technique,
the Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN), consists in a ickering
black and white dot paern similar to that produced
by a TV screen out of tune. It impairs performance
in memory tasks wherein mental images are created
from verbal instrucons (pegword). The DVN impairs
performance on these tasks when administered during
both encoding and retrieval (Andrade, Kemps, Werniers,
May, & Szmalec, 2002; McConnell & Quinn, 2000,
2004; Quinn & McConnell, 1996, 2006), but not during
retenon intervals (Quinn & McConnell, 2006). The DVN
also impairs memory performance when smuli are
presented visually, although the eect of noise is less
consistent in this case. For example, the DVN has no
signicant eects on recognion of Chinese characters
(Andrade et al., 2002) or on recognion of randomly
lled matrices (Avons & Seseri, 2005), although it may
aect the condence of parcipants on the accuracy of
their recognion judgments (Kemps & Andrade, 2012).
In other studies, the DVN affected performance in
recognion tasks for the exact size of circles (McConnell
& Quinn, 2003), color shades (Dent, 2010; Pereira &
Galera, n.d.), texture (Dean, Dewhurst, & Whiaker,
2008) and graphical fonts (Darling, Della Sala, & Logie,
2009; Santana, Godoy, Farias, Ferreira, & Galera, 2013).
The simplest account for differences of
DVN effects on memory and visual image tasks is
methodological. In visual image tasks, presentaon of
DVN and generaon of mental images are simultaneous.
Assuming that percepon and generaon of mental
images acvate overlapping brain regions, as proposed
by Kosslyn (1994), the impairment caused by the
presentaon of DVN can result from the interference of
irrelevant perceptual informaon during the generaon
of mental images. In visual memory tasks, the DVN is
presented aer smuli have been moved from percepon
to a more stable representaon, possibly in the short-
term visual memory. Thus, irrelevant informaon aects
the conscious generaon of visual images, but not the
storage of visual representaons in the short-term visual
store, whether arising from percepon or long-term
memory (Borst, Niven & Logie., 2012; Logie, 2011; Quinn,
2008, 2012).
Methodological dierences in visual image and
visual memory tasks may explain the dierence between
eects of DVN in these two types of task. However, it does
not explain why DVN impairs recognion of some types
of smuli, while leaving others unaected. Dierences
between eects of DVN on memory tasks with more
complex smuli, such as Chinese characters or geometric
paerns (Andrade et al., 2002; Avons & Seseri, 2005),
and tasks that rely on recall of size, color or shape details
(Darling et al., 2009; Dent, 2010; McConnell & Quinn, 2004;
Pereira & Galera, n.d.; Santana et al., 2013) have yet to be
explained. Quinn (2012) suggests that dierent systems
may be involved in the storage of these two broad types
of smuli. Complex smuli, such as Chinese characters
and visual paerns, are easier to encode semancally,
whereas smuli involving subtle variaons in size, color,
and shape, remain for longer in a pre-semanc visual store,
which is more suscepble to interference from sensory or
perceptual informaon. Orme (2009), who showed that
more easily nameable visual paerns are less sensive to
the eect of the DVN, obtained evidence that corroborates
this assumpon. Darling, et al. (2009) showed that the
DVN impairs the recognition of graphical fonts, and
suggested that in visual memory tasks the maintenance
of complex smuli requires connuous generaon of
representations, exposing these representations to
deleterious eects of irrelevant visual inputs. Such issues
could be invesgated by future research by assessing the
amount of details required to impair the maintenance of
graphical fonts and Chinese characters (Andrade et al.,
2002) and randomly lled matrices on working memory
(Avons & Seseri, 2005).
In sum, even though some studies aribute the
variable eects of DVN to rehearsal or to generaon
processes involved in the maintenance of memorized
representaons on consciousness (Darling et al., 2009;
McConnell & Quinn, 2003), such dierent eects for
dierent smuli remains an open queson. Thus, the
identification of stimuli dimensions that determine
whether visual representaons are aected by irrelevant
95
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
Hypotheses in human memory research
visual input is an important goal for future research.
Findings from such studies could extend our knowledge
regarding visual short-term memory, as well as regarding
the connecon of such process to the visual buer.
In addion, further studies considering consolidaon
processes (Vogel, Woodman, & Luck, 2006) can also be
benecial to expand the current knowledge about the
contribuon of early visual processing to visual short-
term memory (e.g., van de Ven, Jacobs, & Sack, 2012).
Recognion Memory: Single Versus Dual-process
Models
In typical recognion memory tasks, individuals
are asked to discriminate previously encoded items from
novel items. Such tasks usually contain an encoding phase
wherein lists of items are presented to volunteers, and
a test phase wherein items presented at the encoding
phase are presented again, intermixed with novel items.
During the test phase, parcipants judge whether each
item has been previously encountered at the encoding
phase or not. There are currently two divergent
theoretical views regarding the cognitive processes
engaged during recognion memory tasks. According to
the ‘single process’ view, recognion memory depends
exclusively on a strength-like memory signal, usually
referred to as familiarity (Benjamin, Diaz, & Wee, 2009;
Verde & Rotello, 2007). According to the ‘dual process’
view, on the other hand, recognion memory involves
a combinaon of familiarity processes and retrieval of
contextual or qualitave details linked to each item, a
process termed ‘recollecon’ (Mandler, 1980; Yonelinas,
2002). In this secon, we discuss arguments in favor and
against each of these models, while highlighng some
topics that can be further explored by future research.
Single process models have been tradionally
based on the Signal Detecon Theory (SDT; Macmillan
& Creelman, 2004). Inially proposed as a framework
to account for psychophysics findings (Green &
Swets, 1966), SDT became extensively employed to
accommodate findings from recognition memory
experiments. As can be seen in Figure 1A, according
to the original signal detecon framework, memory
strength can be represented by a connuous horizontal
axis in which informaon more to the le of the axis
have a less intense memory signal (i.e., weak memories),
whereas informaon to the right a more intense memory
signal (i.e., strong memories). Thus, in recognition
memory tests, ‘old’ and ‘new’ items can be described
by two Gaussian distributions (Figure 1A), with the
distribuon to the le represenng new items and the
one to the right old items. In order to perform recognion
judgments, individuals establish an arbitrary cuto point
(criterion), and items falling to the le of this point are
classied as ‘new’ while items falling to the right are
classied as ‘old’ (Macmillan & Creelman, 2004).
Since its initial proposal as a framework to
account for recognion memory, SDT was adopted by
several memory theorists as the framework of choice
for characterizing this phenomenon (e.g., Morrell,
Gaitan, & Wixted, 2002; Turner, Van Zandt, & Brown,
2011). The main reason for this is perhaps the elegance
and parsimony of the model, its consistency with a
number of theories of memory (e.g., Global Matching
Models; Clark, & Gronlund, 1996), and its outstanding
capacity of generating useful indexes to measure
memory performance (e.g., d’ to measure accuracy
and C to response bias, Snodgrass & Corwin, 1988). The
queson remains, however, of whether this model can be
Figure 1. Basic equal variance signal detecon model (A), and unequal variance signal detecon model (B). On panels A and B, horizontal arrows represent
strength of memory evidence. The curves represent the distribuon of memory signal from new and old items, and the vercal lines represent criterion.
A. Jaeger, C. A. Galera, L.M. Stein, E.J. Lopes
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
96
regarded as a true theorecal descripon of the process
of recognition memory instead of just a pragmatic
framework to measure memory performance. Note
that if one assumes that this model is a true descripon
of recognition memory, one must assume also that
recognition memory is based solely on familiarity
processes. Therefore, the chief queson here is whether
the process of familiarity is enough to account for the
phenomenon of recognion memory or not.
Even though ndings from recognion memory
experiments are roughly consistent with the tradional
SDT framework, subtle inconsistencies advanced
by later memory researchers exposed a number
of limitations inherent to single process models of
recognition (Yonelinas, 1994). That is, unpredicted
asymmetries encountered in analyses of receiver-
operang characteriscs (ROC, Macmillian & Creelman,
2004) indicate that whereas encoded items are
frequently recognized with high levels of condence,
such highly confident judgments are unexpectedly
rare to novel items mistakenly classified as ‘old’
(i.e., false alarms, see Figure 2). Such paern suggests
that high confidence responses to encoded items
are often accompanied by explicit retrieval of vivid
contextual details, indicang the presence of recollecve
processes during their recognion. Further research
showed that the asymmetries brought to aenon by
Yonelinas are remarkably consistent (for a review, see
Yonelinas & Parks, 2007), suggesng that recollecon
plays an important role during recognion of encoded
items (see Figure 2).
These ndings have insgated a heated debate
between proponents of single and dual-process models
of recognion memory, a debate that does not seem to
become resolved anyme in the near future. Researchers
favorable to single process models have proposed
adjustments to the original models in order to account
for the ROCs asymmetries highlighted by Yonelinas
(1994). Perhaps the most accepted updated single
process model is the unequal variance signal detecon
model proposed by Mickes, Wixted and Wais (2007).
According to this model, the distribuons of novel and
Figure 2. Illustrave ROCs predicted by equal variance signal detecon models (A) and by dual process models (B). ROCs can be derived from recognion memory
experiments in which parcipants rate their condence on each of their responses (i.e., Likert scales from high condent “old” to high condent “new”). Thus, in
panels A and B, the boom le point in the graph represents the proporon of high condence “old” responses for both actual old items (hits – y-axis) and for
new items (false alarms – x-axis). The following point (second from le to right), represents the proporon of medium condence “old” responses for both old
items (hits) and new items (false alarms). The third, forth, and h points from le to right represent the proporons of low condence “old”, low condence
“new” and medium condence “new” responses for actual old and new items respecvely. It is important to note that these proporons are cumulave, thus
the second point from le to right, for example, is the proporon of medium condence “old” responses plus the proporon of high condence “old” responses;
the third point is the proporon of low condence “old” plus the proporons of medium and high condence “old” responses, and so on. Notably, the proporon
of high condence “old” responses for actual old items (hits) is higher in panel B than in panel A, while the proporon of high condence “old” responses to
new items (false alarms) are equivalent in both panels. Such increased proporon of high condence for hits generates an asymmetry in the ROC curve (panel
B), and is interpreted by dual process theorists as resulng from recollecve processes restricted to high condence old responses.
97
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
Hypotheses in human memory research
encoded items have different variances at test (see
Figure 1B). That is, this model proposes that in typical
recognion tests, the distribuon of novel items is about
20% less variable than the distribuon of encoded items.
Even though this modied version of the original signal
detecon model is capable of account stascally for the
aforemenoned ROC asymmetries, it is not clear what
this dierence in variance means psychologically. One
could suggest that ‘old’ items are encoded with variable
strength, becoming items with variable memory strength
at test (Jang, Mickes, Wixted, 2012; Wixted, 2007).
It is not clear, nonetheless, why novel items
should not exhibit the same paern. Note that as well
as encoded items, novel items in typical recognion
memory tests are common pieces of information
(i.e., words, gures) usually well known to research
participants (e.g., relatively frequently read/spoken
words encoded at a prior point of each parcipant’s
lifetime). So, were not novel items supposed to be
variable as well? Furthermore, in typical recognion
tests old items were all encountered recently in an
encoding list, while new items were encountered for
the last me in dierent moments and contexts in each
parcipant’s natural environment. Then, would it not be
more reasonable to expect the opposite of the paern
proposed by Wixted (2007)? That is, novel items imbued
with a more variable memory signal than old items.
This issue is in need of further research, which could be
determinant to reveal the process or processes engaged
during recognion memory.
The queson under debate is simple. How many
cognive processes people engage during recognion
memory? Despite its simplicity, future studies should
approach this question properly. An undesired but
oen widespread pracce in psychological research is
the reicaon of poorly dened mental constructs. In
cognive neuroscience studies, for instance, a variety
of memory tasks are assumed to engage recollecon
(Rugg & Yonelinas, 2003), and although such process is
likely to be engaged by a signicant part of such tasks,
a stronger agreement about the involvement of this
process in recognion should be reached. Otherwise,
researchers risk assigning brain acvaons to mental
constructs that have theorecal weaknesses in their
most basic assumpons.
Novel experimental paradigms pursuing to
dissociate processes of familiarity and recollecon during
recognion tasks may be a useful approach to invesgate
this issue. The remember-know paradigm, for example,
have been used for several years to invesgate these
processes (Tulving, 1985). In experiments using such
paradigm, parcipants report whether they recollect
qualitative information associated with each item
(“remember”), or just know they encountered the item
in the encoding list, without recollecng any contextual
informaon (“know”). In an interesng version of this
paradigm (Gardiner, Ramponi, & Richardson-Klavehn,
1998), participants were asked to provide verbal
explanations for a subset of their remember/know
responses. The results suggest that only explanaons
following “remember” responses included descripons
of recollecve experiences, while explanaons following
“know” responses included mostly feelings of familiarity.
Updated versions of this paradigm can be extremely
protable to increase the current knowledge regarding
phenomenological aspects of experiences of recollecon
and familiarity (see Selmeczy & Dobbins, 2014).
Emoon and Memory Accuracy
There is a long history of invesgaon on how
emoon inuences memory. Reisberg and Heuer (2007)
provide a comprehensive review of this issue, which
reveals inconclusive results. That is, emoonal smuli
tend to increase the retenon of both central details and
the gist of events. Such facilitaon, however, does not
necessarily result in accurate memories. The phenomenon
of ashbulb memory illustrates this issue. Talarico and
Rubin (2003) reported that the recall of details of the
terrorist aacks on September 11, a highly emoonal
event, was as accurate as the recall of everyday events,
with parcipants showing signicant forgeng over me.
Interesngly, nonetheless, they also showed that rangs
of recollecon and vividness declined solely for everyday
memories, while remaining constant for the September
11 episode (see also Phelps & Sharot, 2008).
In contrast to its eects on central details of
events, emoonal factors can decrease memory accuracy
for peripheral details of episodes, as in the weapon focus
eect (e.g., Pickel, 2007). To further complicate maers,
the level of emoon expressed and/or the degree of
stress experienced during an event must also be taken
into account, as even details that are central to the event
may be subject to distoron under extreme emoonal
conditions as opposed to neutral circumstances
(Deenbacher, Bornstein, Pewnrod, & McGorty, 2004).
Another factor to be considered in the
invesgaon of the inuence of emoon on memory, is
emoonal valence (i.e., posive and negave emoons).
A. Jaeger, C. A. Galera, L.M. Stein, E.J. Lopes
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
98
The question at issue here is how the retention of
memories for emotional events compares to the
retenon of memories for neutral events. Many lines
of invesgaon have shown that emoonal events are
more memorable than neutral events (Hamann, 2001;
Kensinger, 2004; LaBar & Cabeza, 2006). Nonetheless,
some studies have demonstrated that emotional
memories are also more susceptible to distortion.
For instance, autobiographical memory studies have
indicated that memories for emotional events are
heavily vulnerable to distoron (Levine, 1997; Schmolk,
Bualo, & Squire, 2000; Talarico & Rubin, 2003). Although
these ecologically relevant studies provide precious
insights about how people remember events in the real
world, they have some methodological disadvantages
in comparison to laboratories investigations. In
autobiographical studies, for example, the exactly
condions in which target events were encoded are
unknown, and thus the accuracy of the autobiographical
event cannot be properly checked (Berntsen, 2002;
Reisberg & Heuer, 2004).
The issue of whether or not memories for
emoonal valenced items are suscepble to distoron
was also invesgated by laboratory studies. Some of
these studies have used the Deese- Roediger-McDermo
paradigm (DRM; Roediger & McDermo, 1995), which
was adapted to the Brazilian populaon (Stein & Perguer,
2001; Stein, Feix, & Rohenkohl, 2006), and was design to
examine whether emoonal crical lures could be falsely
remembered (Budson et al., 2006; Kensinger & Corkin,
2004a; Pesta, Murphy, & Sanders, 2001). The DRM
paradigm involves the presentaon of lists of words (e.g.,
table, sit, legs, seat…), each of which is highly associated
with a single, non-presented word (e.g., chair), referred
to as the crical lure. Aer parcipants read or hear
such lists, they typically show a high tendency to falsely
recall or recognize the crical lures. These researchers
have shown that while emotional lures are falsely
remembered, they have also reached the conclusion that
memory for emoonal informaon are less likely to be
distorted than neutral informaon. Nevertheless, these
studies present some methodological limitaons that
prevent one from making more conclusive assumpons
regarding the eect of emoon on memory distoron.
In the experiments reported by Pesta et
al. (2001) and Kensinger and Corkin (2004a), after
studying lists of non-emoonal words orthographically
associated with a nonpresented neutral lure (e.g., link,
mink, and sink were related with rink) or an emoonal
lure (e.g. cape, nape, tape, related to rape), individuals
were less likely to falsely recall or to falsely recognize
emoonal lures than neutral lures. A limitaon of these
studies, however, is that the majority of studied words
were neutral. Therefore, a decrease in false alarms
to emoonal lures was perhaps an eect of semanc
incongruence with targets, a form of disncveness,
rather than a specic eect of emoon on memory
(Kensinger & Schacter, 2006; Schacter, Gallo, & Kensinger,
2007). Budson et al. (2006), in a departure from the two
previous studies, used lists containing both neutral and
emoonal words that were semancally associated in the
study phase. Their ndings indicated no eect of emoon
on false memory reports. Nevertheless, these ndings
might be taken with cauon, since there was no control
for semanc relatedness between studies lists and lures.
Overall, several studies addressing memory
distoron for emoonal informaon have limitaons:
(a) materials are mostly non-emoonal; (b) semanc
relatedness of study and test materials are not
controlled;(c) materials are not standardized for
emoonal dimensions (valence and arousal); (d) posive
and negave valenced materials are not compared.
Regarding the theorecal accounts for distorons
of memories of emoonal informaon, we hypothesize
that two independent memory traces are responsible
for true and false recognion in the DRM paradigm
(see also Budson et al., 2006). This hypothesis is based
on the Fuzzy Trace Theory (Brainerd & Reyna, 2005),
which proposes that gist traces store the meaning of
the experience, whereas verbam traces store specic
features of the experience. False memories result
from remembering gist traces while not remembering
verbam representaons. Veridical memories, on the
other hand, result from remembering both item-specic
verbatim and gist traces. Therefore, assuming that
emoon enhances memory for specic features of the
study list (i.e., verbam trace), one would predict that
false recognion of both negave and posive emoonal
lures would decrease relave to emoonally neutral
lures. Conversely, assuming that emoon enhances only
the gist trace of the study list, one would predict that the
false recognion of emoonal lures could actually be
greater than that of non-emoonal lures. That is, levels
of false recognion for emoonal lures would increase
or decrease depending upon the specic memory trace
enhanced by emoon. Such predicon remains in need
of further experiments, which could circumvent the
limitaons of the studies menoned above.
99
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
Hypotheses in human memory research
False Memories in Short-Term Tasks:
Contribuons of Reacon Time Measures
Among the distorons encountered in human
memory, the phenomenon of false memories (FM) has
been taking a prominent posion due to its importance
in daily events, as well as in experimental studies
(for a review, see Stein & Cols., 2010). FMs can be
conceptualized either as memories for events that have
never occurred, or memories that dier signicantly
from their original events (Alves & Lopes, 2007;
Brainerd & Reyna, 2005; Mazzoni & Scoboria, 2007;
Stein et al., 2010). The experimental procedure used in
most current FM research is the abovemenoned DRM
paradigm (Gallo, 2010; Pezdek & Lam, 2007; Roediger &
McDermo, 1995). Although the FM eects elicited by
this paradigm are considerably robust, the majority of
studies employing such paradigm use tasks of recall and
recognion, having as dependent variable the proporon
of distorons on these indices. Moreover, research using
the DRM has focused on long-term episodic memory
for verbal material, a type of memory that can be
signicantly distorted aer intervals of weeks or months
(Atkins & Reuter-Lorenz, 2008).
An open queson regarding FMs is whether such
phenomenon is circumscribed to long-term memory.
There is substanal evidence suggesng that semanc
coding can also be found in short-term memory tasks
(Bartha, Martin, & Jensen, 1998; Flegal, Atkins, &
Reuter-Lorenz, 2010; Haarmann & Usher, 2001; Jones
& Anderson, 1982; Shulman, 1972), a proposal also
supported by neuropsychological studies (R. C. Marn &
Romani, 1994; N. Marn & Saran, 1992). Such evidence
make the possibility of studying FM in short-term tasks
promising, and allow for the use of reacon me (RT) as
a dependent variable in combinaon with the commonly
used accuracy measures (Galera & Lopes, 1995; Lopes &
Garcia, 2014). The greatest advantage of such approach
is that it can provide ner-grained knowledge about basic
memory processes in comparison to accuracy measures
alone (Balota & Yap, 2011; Luce, 1986; Welford, 1980).
The use of RT measures to study cognion grew
steadily since the S. Sternberg’s (1966) seminal paper,
which was among the most cited papers in the 60’s,
70’s and early 80 (White, 1983). A search in PsychINFO
with the keywords memory scanning, memory search
and Sternberg’s task, crossed with the keywords false
memories or false memory, in the period from 1950 to
2010, revealed that only the study of Coane, McBride,
Raulerson and Jordan (2007) used the task proposed by
S. Sternberg to study false memories on DRM lists. Those
authors manipulated smuli set size (three, ve and
seven words) and test type (targets, crical distracters,
and unrelated distracters), having RT and proporon of
errors as dependent variables. This study showed that
crical distracters were both more falsely recognized
than unrelated distracters, and slower to be correctly
rejected than unrelated distracters. As expected, RTs also
increased as a funcon of number of memorized smuli.
Similar ndings were reported by Atkins and
Reuter-Lorenz (2008). These authors showed an increase
in RTs for critical distracters using an interval of 4
seconds between study and test. These results were
further replicated in an experiment wherein task-related
neuroimaging data were collected to examine the role of
prefrontal cortex regions (PFC) during false recognion
versus correct rejecon of crical distracters (Atkins
& Reuter-Lorenz, 2011). Since it has been extensively
demonstrated that PFC regions, such as le ventrolateral
PFC and dorsolateral PFC, are involved in cognitive
control during resolution of semantic interference
(e.g., Badre & Wagner, 2007), decreases in the acvity
of these regions during false recognion may suggest
that false memories are a consequence of reduced
cognive control. The neuroimaging data reported by
Atkins and Reuter-Lorenz showed that these predicons
were supported for the le dorsolateral PFC (i.e., there
was a decrease in the acvity of this region during false
recognion). These authors interpreted this nding as
evidence for the proposal that when items produce high
levels of interference, as in the case of the DRM crical
distracters, cognive control processes supported by the
le dorsolateral PFC are responsible for the maintenance
of accuracy (i.e., they prevent false recognion).
Sene, Lopes and Rossini (2014), using the Brazilian
version of the DRM lists (Stein & Perguer & 2001; Stein
et. al, 2006), showed that RTs were signicantly increased
as a funcon of test type due to an increase in memory
load, and this increase was higher for crical distracters
(FMs) with a memorized set of seven words. Similarly,
the percentage of errors signicantly increased due to
increase in memory load and this increase was higher in
the crical distracter condion with the memorized set of
seven words. From the memorized set of size three to size
seven, percentage of false alarms to crical distracters
increased eight mes! (Sene et al., 2014).
Current reacon me ndings regarding false
memories in short-term tasks is a promising ground
A. Jaeger, C. A. Galera, L.M. Stein, E.J. Lopes
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
100
for future invesgaons. Such invesgaons can focus
on analysis of RT distribuons for dierent types of
tests, focus on the study of processing types (serial x
parallel, e.g., Galera & Lopes, 1997; Townsend, 1990),
manipulaons of retenon interval and memory load
in the Sternberg’s task, or interfering tasks in working
memory paradigms. Results from such experiments,
combined with exisng theories of long-term memory,
short-term memory and working memory can shed new
light on the rich and interesng phenomenon of false
memories.
Concluding remarks
Currently, a major challenge faced by students
and researchers is to idenfy what is really important
or relevant among the ever increasing amount of
publications on a given research field. This can be
especially dicult when instead of novel and potenally
promising results, the student or researcher is interested
in the limitaons and inconsistencies inherent to a given
research eld. Unfortunately, dicules like this are also
common for those who are interested in human memory.
Our goal here was to expose such inconsistencies, and to
summarize unanswered quesons that can be especially
relevant for the process of hypothesis generaon on
human memory research (McGuire, 1997). Thus, in
the present arcle we exposed and discussed several
issues concerning the study of human memory that can
potenally become raw material for the development of
future research. The arcle focused on issues inherent
to the study of working memory processes, long-term
memory recognion, emoon and memory interacon,
and analysis of false memory data. All approached topics
revealed puzzling inconsistencies and open quesons,
suggesng that theorizing on human memory would
prot greatly from further and improved studies on
these topics.
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103
Estudos de Psicologia, 21(2), abril a junho de 2016, 92-103
Hypotheses in human memory research
Antônio Jaeger, Doutor em Psicologia pela Universidade Federal
do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Pós-doutorado em Psicologia na
Universidade de Washington em St Louis (WASH-U/EUA), Pós-
doutorado em Biociências na Universidade de São Paulo (USP) e
Pós-doutorado em Psicologia na Poncia Universidade Católica do
Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), é Professor Adjunto na Universidade
Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). Endereço para correspondência:
Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, UFMG, Departamento de Psicologia.
Fone: (31) 3409-6279. E-mail: antonio.jaeger@gmail.com
Cesar Alexis Galera, Doutor em Psicologia Experimental pelo
Instuto de Psicologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Pós-Doutorado
na Concordia University (Montreal, Québec, Canadá), é Professor
Titular da Faculdade de Filosoa, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto,
Universidade de São Paulo (FFCLRP-USP). E-mail: algalera@usp.br
Lilian Milnitsky Stein, Doutora em Psicologia
Cogniva pela University of Arizona (EUA) e
Pós-doutorado em Psicologia na Universidad de Barcelona
(UB/Espanha), é Professora Titular do Programa de Pós-
graduação em Psicologia da Poncia Universidade Católica
do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). E-mail: lilian@pucrs.br
Ederaldo José Lopes, Doutor em Psicobiologia pela Universidade de
São Paulo (USP/, Ribeirão Preto, SP), Pós-Doutorado em Filosoa da
Mente e Ciências Cognivas na Universidade Federal de São Carlos
(UFSCAR/São Carlos, SP), é Professor Titular do Instuto de Psicologia,
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU). E-mail: ederaldo@ufu.br
Recebido em 14.Mai.15
Revisado em 07.Abr.16
Aceito em 30.Jun.16
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