| Abstract: | Conducted 5 experiments with 180 undergraduates to investigate the memory and decision process involved in distinguishing between memories of doing and imagining doing. Ss were presented with items (typically line drawings) and told to trace or imagine tracing the outline or simply look at them. Ss were then tested for their ability to recognize the item and to identify the activity performed on it. Selected findings indicate that, although the accuracy of activity identification varied, type of activity did not affect item recognition. Tracing and imagining were more confusable in memory than were tracing and looking. The pattern of item recognition and activity identification remained the same whether or not Ss expected to be tested for their memory of the activity performed. Memory for imagining was more susceptible to confusion or multiple interpretation than was memory for tracing or looking, suggesting that accuracy of image identifications is affected by the number and the nature of the alternative activities under consideration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
