The Influence of Semantic Neighbourhood Density and Concreteness on Episodic Memory for Single Words
Date of Award
2022
Publication Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Psychology
Keywords
Neighbourhood density, Episodic memory, Single words
Supervisor
L. Buchanan
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
To explore the interdependent relationship between episodic and semantic memory, previous studies have examined the effects of various semantic characteristics of single words in episodic memory tasks (Gonzales, 2018; Hargreaves et al., 2012; Lau et al., 2018; Nelson & Schreiber, 1992). Such research has shown faciliatory effects of semantic richness, as measured by semantic neighbourhood density (SND), in recognition memory tasks of episodic memory for concrete words (Gonzalez, 2018). The goal of the current study was to explore the influence of SND and concreteness on episodic memory for single words using a recognition memory task. The results indicated that concrete words were discriminated better compared to abstract words. The results support a concreteness effect of memory such that there was a faciliatory effect for concrete words compared to abstract words on the recognition memory task. The current study is the first attempt to examine the influence of SND on recognition memory for abstract words.
Recommended Citation
Fougere, Brinna, "The Influence of Semantic Neighbourhood Density and Concreteness on Episodic Memory for Single Words" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 9133.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/9133