Context Effects in Recognition Memory.

The role of context in recognition memory was examined in seven experiments. In the first four experiments a context word was added to or deleted from to-be-remembered units. Recognition was impaired both when the context word added or deleted was associatively related and when it was associatively unrelated. The effects of changing context disappeared when context was only added in Experiment 5, but were still present when context was only deleted in Experiment 6. In Experiment 7, recognition performance was studied over several retention intervals, with critical words tested in changed or unchanged context. The deleterious effects of changing context increased with intralist retention interval. Context effects observed in these experiments are interpreted as evidence for retrieval processes in recognition memory.