A feature-space theory of the production effect in recognition

Caplan, Jeremy B. and Guitard, Dominic 2024. A feature-space theory of the production effect in recognition. Experimental Psychology 71 (1) , pp. 64-82. 10.1027/1618-3169/a000611

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Abstract

Mathematical models explaining production effects assume that production leads to the encoding of additional features, such as phonological ones. This improves memory with a combination of encoding strength and feature distinctiveness, implementing aspects of propositional theories. However, it is not clear why production differs from other manipulations such as study time and spaced repetition, which are also thought to influence strength. Here we extend attentional subsetting theory and propose an explanation based on the dimensionality of feature spaces. Specifically, we suggest phonological features are drawn from a compact feature space. Deeper features are sparsely subselected from a larger subspace. Algebraic and numerical solutions shed light on several findings, including the dependency of production effects on how other list items are encoded (differing from other “strength” factors) and the production-advantage even for homophones. This places production within a continuum of strength-like manipulations that differ in terms of the feature subspaces they operate upon and leads to novel predictions based on direct manipulations of feature-space properties.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
ISSN:	1618-3169
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	28 March 2024
Last Modified:	22 Aug 2024 14:28
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170188

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