The HED Task Catalog is under development. IDs are not stable until formal release. Comments are welcome at github.com/hed-standard/hed-task/issues.

Old/New Recognition Memory Task

HED task ID: hedtsk_old_new_recognition_memory

Family: Recall and recognition memory tests

Also known as: Recognition Memory Test, Yes/No Recognition

Studied items mixed with new lures at test; hit and false-alarm rates yield d’ and can be decomposed into recollection and familiarity via ROC or remember/know.

Description

Participants study a list of stimuli (words, pictures, or faces) during an encoding phase. In the test phase, they view a mixture of studied (old) and unstudied (new) items and make binary old/new recognition judgments. Performance is analyzed using signal detection measures (hits, false alarms, d’) and can be further decomposed into familiarity-based (rapid, automatic) and recollection-based (slower, effortful) processes using confidence ratings or remember/know judgments. Neuroimaging consistently implicates the hippocampus, angular gyrus, and default mode network in successful recognition.

Inclusion test

An experiment is an instance of this task when its procedure matches, it manipulates at least one of the listed variables, and it records at least one of the listed measures.

Procedure

Participants study a list of items, then view a test list containing studied (old) items and unstudied (new) items and classify each as old or new.

Manipulation

Study list length; encoding depth (levels of processing); retention interval; confidence judgment; response deadline.

Measurement

Hit rate, false alarm rate, d-prime (discriminability), criterion (response bias); ROC curves; remember/know judgments (when combined).

Variations

Named versions that change what the participant experiences or does. The identifier of a variation is hedvar_<task>__<variation>.

Variation

Description

Justification

Standard Old/New

hedvar_old_new_recognition_memory__standard_old_new

Binary old/new judgments to studied and unstudied items.

Canonical yes/no recognition judgment

Remember-Know (R/K)

hedvar_old_new_recognition_memory__remember_know_r_k

Subjective classification of old items as recollected or familiar.

Participant distinguishes recollection from familiarity; different response scale

Source Memory

hedvar_old_new_recognition_memory__source_memory

Report item + encoding context (which list, voice, location).

Identify source context of recognized item; adds contextual retrieval judgment

Associative Recognition

hedvar_old_new_recognition_memory__associative_recognition

Test whether pairs were studied together; probes binding/relational memory.

Judge intact vs. rearranged pairs; tests associative vs. item memory

Forced-Choice Recognition

hedvar_old_new_recognition_memory__forced_choice_recognition

Choose which of two alternatives was studied; reduces criterion effects.

Select target from foil array; different response structure

Continuous Recognition

hedvar_old_new_recognition_memory__continuous_recognition

Items repeat within a long list at varying lags; combines encoding and retrieval.

Study and test interleaved in ongoing stream; different trial structure

DRM (Deese-Roediger-McDermott) False Memory Variant

hedvar_old_new_recognition_memory__drm_deese_roediger_mcdermott_false_memory_variant

Includes highly associated lures that produce robust false recognition.

Semantically related lures elicit false recognition; distinct false memory paradigm

Cognitive processes

This task is designed to engage the following processes:

Key references

  • Mandler, G. (1980). Recognizing: The judgment of previous occurrence. Psychological Review, 87(3), 252-271. (DOI)

  • Henson, R. N., Rugg, M. D., Shallice, T., Josephs, O., & Dolan, R. J. (1999). Recollection and familiarity in recognition memory: An event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Journal of Neuroscience, 19(10), 3962-3972. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Rugg, M. D., & Curran, T. (2007). Event-related potentials and recognition memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(6), 251-257. (DOI, PubMed)

Further references

  • Wixted, J. T. (2007). Dual-process theory and signal-detection theory of recognition memory. Psychological Review, 114(1), 152–176. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Rugg, M. D., & Vilberg, K. L. (2013). Brain networks underlying episodic memory retrieval. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 23(2), 255–260. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Wixted, J. T., & Mickes, L. (2014). A signal-detection-based diagnostic-feature-detection model of eyewitness identification. Psychological Review, 121(4), 588–607. (DOI, PubMed)