Randomized trial investigates false memory formation through sentences, highlighting the role of semantic similarity.
Key Points
This research aims to explore how false memories arise from sentences and the influence of semantic similarity on recall.
Adapted the DRM paradigm to use sentence materials and sentence embeddings for analysis.
Conducted three experiments with different encoding conditions: incidental, intentional, and imagination plus intentional encoding.
Compared false recognition rates across sentence-based and word-based tasks.
Semantic similarity significantly predicted false recognition for sentences, strongest under incidental encoding (p<0.05).
The correlation for participant-level sensitivity to semantic similarity was highest when encoding sentences incidentally, compared to intentional encoding.
Critical-lure false alarms showed consistent patterns across tasks, related to baseline endorsement of unrelated lures.