Noncriterial Recollection Influences Metacognitive Monitoring and Control Processes

Abstract

When retrieving information from memory, temporarily irrelevant material may influence future retrieval endeavours. According to an accessibility account, the amount and intensity of this information can be used to predict the availability of related material. A dual-source paradigm was used to investigate whether information that was not relevant (i.e., noncriterial recollection) to the current memory search would influence metacognitive judgements about a relevant, criterial dimension. In two experiments, participants gave higher feelings-of-knowing judgements for a weakly encoded source dimension when they could subsequently recall the other source dimension later. Furthermore, the influence of the noncriterial information appeared to be driven more so by the subjective state of remembering rather than knowing. Thus, strong memorial information that is temporarily irrelevant influences behaviour.