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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.07.28.666819

Aging and false memories: Comparing effects of item-relatedness and list position

Gurguryan, L.·Kensinger, E. A.·Reuter-Lorenz, P. A.·Dimsdale-Zucker, H. R.
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Abstract

Evidence from classic serial position curves suggests that semantic false memories traditionally arise from presumed long-term memory stores whereas phonological false memories arise from presumed short-term memory stores. However, recent research with younger adults challenges this distinction, finding semantic and phonological false memories across memory stores and list positions (Atkins & Reuter-Lorenz, 2008; Dimsdale-Zucker et al., 2018; Flegal et al., 2010). The present study tested whether semantic and phonological false memories reflect distinct or shared underlying mechanisms and whether these patterns differ with age. Younger (YAs) and older (OAs) adults completed a modified Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm that manipulated semantic and phonological similarity across list position. Although OAs recalled fewer items than YAs, both groups generated more phonological than semantic false memories. Notably, list position did not influence false memories in either YAs or OAs, suggesting false memory generation is driven by list composition rather than putative memory store. These findings challenge traditional views of memory organization by revealing shared cognitive processes, which transcend traditional memory system distinctions that underlie semantic and phonological false memories.

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Gurguryan, L., Kensinger, E. A., Reuter-Lorenz, P. A., Dimsdale-Zucker, H. R.. 2025-07-31. Aging and false memories: Comparing effects of item-relatedness and list position. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.28.666819

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