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.

Sternberg Item Recognition Task

HED task ID: hedtsk_sternberg_item_recognition

Family: Short-term and working memory tasks

Also known as: Sternberg Memory Scanning, Memory Search Task

Short memory set followed by a probe; yes/no judgment of set membership. RT typically scales linearly with set size.

Description

The Sternberg task measures the speed of short-term memory scanning. On each trial, participants encode a brief study list of 1-6 items, then after a retention interval, judge whether a test probe was in the studied list. The critical finding is that RT increases linearly with memory set size for both positive and negative probes, suggesting serial exhaustive scanning. The slope of the RT-by-set-size function indexes memory scanning speed, while the intercept indexes stimulus encoding and response execution time.

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 memorize a small set of items (1–6 digits or letters), then a probe appears and they indicate whether it was in the memory set.

Manipulation

Set size (1–6); probe type (positive/present vs. negative/absent); degraded probes; varied vs. fixed set across trials.

Measurement

RT as a function of set size (slope = scanning rate, ~38 ms/item); intercept; accuracy.

Variations

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

Variation

Description

Justification

Visual Sternberg

hedvar_sternberg_item_recognition__visual_sternberg

Letters/digits presented visually; visual probe comparison.

Canonical memory set presented visually; recognition probe after delay

Auditory Sternberg

hedvar_sternberg_item_recognition__auditory_sternberg

Items presented acoustically; tests modality-specific memory.

Auditory memory set; different sensory modality

Cross-Modal Sternberg

hedvar_sternberg_item_recognition__cross_modal_sternberg

Encoding in one modality, probe in another; tests amodal representation.

Study in one modality, test in another; cross-modal recognition

Sternberg with Irrelevant Items

hedvar_sternberg_item_recognition__sternberg_with_irrelevant_items

Memory set includes to-be-ignored items; tests directed forgetting.

Distractors added during retention; tests interference resistance

Recent-Probes Sternberg

hedvar_sternberg_item_recognition__recent_probes_sternberg

Negative probes that were in the previous (but not current) set; measures proactive interference.

Probes match previous trials; tests proactive interference

Cognitive processes

This task is designed to engage the following processes:

Key references

  • Sternberg, S. (1966). High-speed scanning in human memory. Science, 153(3736), 652-654. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Sternberg, S. (1969). Memory-scanning: Mental processes revealed by reaction-time experiments. American Scientist, 57(4), 421-457.

Further references

  • Donkin, C., & Nosofsky, R. M. (2012). A power-law model of psychological memory strength in short-term and long-term recognition. Psychological Science, 23(6), 625–634. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Van Vugt, M. K., Schulze-Bonhage, A., Litt, B., Brandt, A., & Kahana, M. J. (2010). Hippocampal gamma oscillations increase with memory load. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(7), 2694–2699. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Oberauer, K., Lewandowsky, S., Awh, E., Brown, G. D., Conway, A., et al. (2018). Benchmarks for models of short-term and working memory. Psychological Bulletin, 144(9), 885–958. (DOI, PubMed)