Effects of attention and confidence on the hypothesized ERP correlates of recollection and familiarity

Abstract

Dual-process theories suggest that recognition memory is determined by two separate processes: familiarity and recollection. Experiment 1 behaviorally replicated past studies using the remember/know procedure to indicate that the amount of attention devoted to study influences both recollection and familiarity, but recollection more strongly. Experiments 1 and 2 assessed the effects of attention on two ERP components that have been hypothesized to be related to familiarity (FN400 old/new effect, 300-500 ms, anterior) and recollection (parietal old/new effect, 400-800 ms, posterior). Parietal old/new effects were reduced by divided attention, but FN400 old/new effects were not. Parietal ERPs (400-800 ms) in experiment 2 increased with confidence in recognizing old items, but not new items. These results support the hypothesis that the parietal old/new effect is related to recollection.