关键词: 源记忆, 靶记忆, 事件相关电位, 熟悉, 回想

Abstract:

According to Marsh and Hicks (2002), source memory concerns the memory of where the item comes from (source), and target memory or destination memory concerns the memory of where the item goes (target). Compared to source memory, target memory might play a more important role in social life. Many contradictory findings were produced when researchers compared target memory and source memory. Marsh and Hicks (2002) denied the advantage of source memory over target memory or vice versa. They found that memory performance will be better if participants need to decide who to be the target or source, because decision involves more processing. Gopie and MacLeod (2009) argued that target memory is easier to fail than source memory, because people usually focus on themselves while they are outputting information. Two experiments aimed to compare the processing level of both type of memory under the condition that decision components were removed from the memory tasks. Experiment 1 measured the ERPs of item memory, source memory and target memory during their retrieval. Experiment 2 measured the learning times required for source memory and target memory to meet the high standard of success. Twenty-one university students (8 males and 13 females) participated in Experiment 1. They were required to perform item-, source- and target memory task. The results show that although there was no significant difference between the accuracies of source memory and target memory, ERPs of correct retrieval of source memory and that of target memory showed a marginal significant difference at LPC—which is related with recollection: (target memory more positive than source memory and the difference is most obvious in the parietal area), indicating that target memory may have deeper level of processing than the source memory. Twenty-four university students participated in Experiment 2. The task was a combination of source memory and target memory, and it had a high criterion of success (accuracy rate of nearly 90%, or 21 out of 24 items). The results show that it took more time to reach the criterion of success in target memory than in source memory. To be summarized, the difference of processing depth between source memory and target memory was slight, but ERPs and high criterion learning paradigm provided strong support for the inference that target memory has deeper processing level than source memory, even when both are without decision component.

Key words: source memory, target memory, ERP, familiarity, recollection