| A surprising violation or validation experienced during a remembering test induces the perception of discrepancy, causing a feeling of familiarity (Whittlesea & Williams, 1998; 2000; 2001a; 2001b). The experiments in this dissertation investigated whether that perception affects performance when it is experienced in the original encounter with a stimulus. A number of paradigms were used that have been previously found to be associated with creating the perception of discrepancy. In each experiment a portion of the target items were presented in a study phase in the context of a manipulation thought to induce the perception of discrepancy. In a subsequent recognition test, the earlier experience of that perception increased the accuracy of participants' discrimination. However, when the subsequent task required a frequency judgment, that experience caused an illusion of repetition for items presented only once. The paradigm was also applied to and tested with brand names; however a different pattern emerged from that found using regular words. Thus, the perception of discrepancy in an initial encounter may be a valuable aid to later remembering; but can also cause systematic memory errors under some circumstances. The results extend the boundaries of the discrepancy-attribution hypothesis, demonstrating that the perception of discrepancy experienced in the past can affect the accuracy of current processing in more ways than one.; Keywords. fluency, discrepancy, familiarity, encoding, learning, memory, recognition, frequency, brand names... |
