ORTHOGRAPHIC FALSE MEMORY AND LEVELS-OF-PROCESSING: A STUDY USING CHINESE CHARACTERS

Abstract

This study aims to improve the experimental designs of past studies by investigating the effects of levels-of-processing on orthographic false memory. Orthographic false memory refers to false memory induced due to similarities in visual properties. Adapting from the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm, participants were first asked to classify Chinese characters based on their concreteness (semantic processing) and structure (structural processing). Subsequently, a surprise recognition test was administered. The results show that orthographic false memory effects were induced at similar levels for both types of processing. Levels-of-processing thus did not have a significant effect on orthographic false memory. Nonetheless, these findings provide additional support for the existence of orthographic false memory effects. Fuzzy-trace theory may thus need to be revised to account for these effects.