Binte Mohd Ikhsan, Siti Nurnadhirah;
(2021)
Inference and False Memory Within Multielement Events.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Recollection of multi-element events reflects a process of pattern completion in which one element retrieves the others. However, recollection is reconstructive and unseen associations can be inferred. To study this, I used multi-element events composed of overlapping pairs of items (locations, people, objects/animals) presented sequentially, interleaved with pairs from other events. For events with all associations presented (AB, BC, AC), retrievals of seen (‘direct’) pairs from the same event were statistically interdependent, indicating pattern completion. However, for events with only some associations presented (AB, BC, CD; AC, BD, AD not seen), direct pairs were retrieved independently but inferred ‘indirect’ pairs (AC, BD, AD) were interdependent, demonstrating their common reliance on direct pair BC. These results were unaffected by the order of testing direct and indirect pairs or by repeated presentation, are consistent with an auto-associative network model, and establish a role for pattern completion in inference. Although inferred associations can aid reconstructive retrieval, they might also cause false memories. To investigate further, I presented events comprising images of a person and an object superimposed onto a location, some events sharing an element with one other (e.g. Madonna-laptop-gym, Ronaldo-vase-gym). Inference-related false memories did arise (e.g. of seeing Madonna with the vase) but only showed weak (non-significant) dependency on direct associations (e.g. Madonna-laptop) unlike explicitly-tested indirect associations (e.g. Madonna-Ronaldo). Instead, false memories (e.g. Madonna-vase) were afforded by specific combinations of direct associations: those strongly linking the cue with the lure (e.g. Madonna-gym, gym-vase) but not those with their correct associates (i.e. Madonna-laptop). These experiments indicate that pattern completion supports reconstructive episodic memory and explicit inference for missing associations, while false memories can be created by false inference but have a more complex relationship with pattern completion. I discuss the implications for veridical memories, illusory memories, metacognitive awareness and explicit inference.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Inference and False Memory Within Multielement Events |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Computer Science |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10139247 |
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