Cross-Modal Utilization of Information: Recognition Memory for Environmental Stimuli

Abstract

In a study of cross-modal recognition memory for vision and audition photographs were matched for meaningful content with naturalistic sounds. Fifteen subjects inspected pictures and were tested with sounds and for 15 others the procedure was reversed. The two cross-modal groups were further divided into subgroups of 5 to test at one of three delays: immediate, 2 days, or 7 days. Accuracies for recognition of vision-audition for the respective retention intervals were 88.0%, 81.8%, and 76.4% and for audition-vision 87.9%, 85.1%, and 76.7%. Delay interval significantly affected cross-modal recognition. There was no interaction. Vision-audition recognition accuracy did not differ from audition-vision. The cross-modal recognition for both was high. Neither differed from a comparable intra-modal recognition memory for naturalistic sounds (Lawrence, 1974).