Biomedical subjects

Susan L Hornstein

Publications and source records attributed to Susan L Hornstein.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Memory for actions: enactment and source memory.

Enacting simple action phrases enhances item memory but may not enhance other aspects of memory. The present experiment examines the effects of enactment on source memory. During the study phase, participants performed some actions (subject-performed tasks, SPTs) and observed the experimenter perform other actions (experimenter-performed tasks, EPTs). One group performed the SPTs with eyes closed, one group with eyes open (the standard condition), and one group performed SPTs facing a mirror (EPT presentation was constant across groups). As expected, item memory was better for SPTs than for EPTs. More importantly, source memory for SPTs was affected by the amount of visual feedback. As predicted by the source-monitoring framework, source memory for SPTs decreased as the amount of visual feedback increased from none (eyes closed) to moderate (standard condition) to maximal (mirror condition). In addition, SPT encoding failed to increase source memory and in one condition actually decreased source memory, relative to EPT encoding. Thus, enactment dissociated item and source memory, enhancing the former but not the latter.

Affect↗

PubMed2003

Long-term flashbulb memory for learning of Princess Diana's death.

Flashbulb memories are unusually vivid recollections of the circumstances in which one first learns of a shocking and emotionally arousing event. In the present study we examined students' memories concerning the death of Diana. Princess of Wales. Participants completed a standard flashbulb memory questionnaire 1 week after her death, in which they reported the circumstances in which they first heard the news. Accuracy of these memories (defined by consistency of responses across delays) was investigated by either a single retest 18 months after the event, or two retests at 3 and 18 months after the event. Participants' descriptions remained accurate at both 3 and 18 months, and testing at 3 months had no effect on accuracy of the subsequent 18-month responses. Consistent with previous research, both emotional intensity and rehearsal were related to accuracy.

Emotions↗

PubMed2003

Memory for actions: self-performed tasks and the reenactment effect.

Encoding action phrases by enactment (self-performed tasks, or SPTs) leads to better memory than does observing actions (experimenter-performed tasks, or EPTs) or hearing action phrases (Engelkamp, 1998). In addition, recognition memory for SPTs is enhanced when test items are reenacted. Experiment 1 demonstrated a reenactment effect for EPTs, as well as for SPTs, indicating that the effect can be based on visual, as well as motoric, feedback. However, the reenactment effect in SPTs was found even when the participants were blindfolded at test (Experiment 2), indicating that the basis for the reenactment effect differs across SPTs and EPTs. Experiments 3 and 4 provided additional evidence that visual feedback is not critical for reenactment recognition in the case of SPTs. In addition, these experiments failed to show a hand congruency effect (enhanced recognition when the same hand enacts at study and at test), indicating that this effect is not as generalizable as the reenactment effect. These results have important implications for the motor-encoding hypothesis of the enactment effect.

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