Measuring the bases of recognition memory: An investigation of the process-dissociation framework

The process-dissociation (PD) model quantitatively measures 2 purported bases of recognition memory: intentional recollection and automatic familiarity. As an alternative, the authors present the diagnostic context (DC) model, which differentiates between recollection that is diagnostic of list source versus that which is nondiagnostic. The DC model implies that the PD parameter of recollection measures only diagnostic recollection, whereas the PD parameter of familiarity is inappropriately affected by aspects of nondiagnostic recollection. In the authors' experiment, increasing list similarity decreased estimates of recollection as measured by the PD model, increased estimates of familiarity as measured by the PD model, and decreased estimates of diagnosticity as measured by the DC model. In addition, the effects of both levels of processing and attention depended on study list similarity. The DC model more readily accounts for the results than does the PD model. The results suggest that the PD model may not render pure measures of recollection or familiarity when applied to the 2-source recognition memory paradigm.