Current Research
My current research ranges from basic theoretical questions (what are
the mechanisms of encoding, retrieval, and forgetting?) to issues of
application and function (how do people use what they retrieve? how
does memory function under real-world conditions?). I'm always
happy to talk with students interested in getting involved as research
assistants or with dissertation projects and Msc/PhD studentships.
One memory or many?
Memory seems to take different forms: familiarity without a sense of
time or place; recollection of specific details; memory for single
items or events; memory for association or context; knowledge of skill
and procedure.
Do qualitatively different processes govern these different forms of
memory? Converging evidence from a variety of domains suggest
that there is a "toolbox" of memory processes that people use in
different ways according to the demands of the situation. The
goal is to develop quantitative models of these processes that may
bring us closer to a unified understanding of how memory works across
different retrieval tasks (item recognition, associative recognition,
recall, etc.).
Retrieval-induced forgetting. Remembering
some things makes us forget other things. The function of this
phenomenon and the mechanisms responsible for it remain open to debate.
My particular interest is in resolving the apparent conflict between
classical interference theories and more recent theories of retrieval
inhibition.
Metacognition and decision-making.
People have theories about how their memory works. They have rules,
some conscious and some unconscious, that dictate how information
retrieved from memory is translated into judgments and choices. These
decision-making processes can be quite sophisticated, and understanding
them may enable us to train people to use their memory more accurately.
On the other hand, some rules ("heuristics") are simplistic and often
lead to memory illusions and false memories. I am particulalry
interested in developing quantitative models of the decision-making
process within the framework of signal detection theory.
Emotion and memory. Recent
work has examined 1) the way that mood and emotional stimuli can
facilitate false memories; 2) the role of mood in shaping cognitive
processing styles, which can have both positive and negative influences
on memory; 3) the effects of physiological arousal on encoding,
retrieval, and long-term consolidation.
Distinctiveness.
What is distinctiveness, and what makes distinctive things more
memorable? Our answers to this question remain surprisingly vague and
disjointed. I am interested in several aspects of distinctiveness. One
has to do with the effect of distinctiveness on memory decision-making
(e.g., confidence, the distinctiveness heuristic). We often base
judgments not on how objectively memorable a thing is, but on how
memorable we think it is. Another aspect is the effect of
distinctiveness on contextual binding. Are we better able to remember
items encountered in a distinctive context? Are we better able to form
associations between distinctive things?
Publications (Peer-reviewed Journals & Book Chapters)
Trippas,
D., Handley, S. J., & Verde, M. F. (in press). The SDT model of
belief bias: Complexity, time and cognitive ability mediate the effects
of believability. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning,
Memory and Cognition. (pdf)
Verde,
M. F. (in press). Retrieval-induced forgetting in recall: Competitor
interference revisited. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning,
Memory and Cognition. (pdf)
Verde, M. F. (2012). Retrieval-induced forgetting and inhibition: A critical review. In B. H. Ross (Ed.),
The Psychology of Learning and Motivation,Vol. 56,. p. 47-80. New York: Academic Press. (pdf)
Verde, M. F., & Perfect, T. J. (2011). Retrieval-induced forgetting in recognition is absent under time pressure. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18, 1166–1171. (pdf)
Verde, M. F. (2010). Conjunction errors in recognition: Emergent structure and metacognitive control. Journal of Memory and Language, 63, 476-488. (pdf)
Verde,
M. F., Stone, L. K., Hatch, H. S., & Schnall, S. (2010).
Distinguishing between mnemonic and attributional sources of
familiarity: Positive emotion bias as a case study. Memory & Cognition, 38, 142-153. (pdf)
Verde,
M. F. (2009). The list-strength effect in recall: Relative-strength
competition and retrieval inhibition may both contribute to
forgetting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 35, 205-220. (pdf)
Rotello,
C. M., Masson, M. E. J., & Verde, M. F. (2008). Type I error rates
and power analysis for single-point sensitivity measures. Perception & Psychophysics, 70, 389-401. (pdf)
Verde, M.
F., & Rotello, C. M. (2007). Memory
strength and the decision process in recognition memory.
Memory & Cognition, 35, 254-262. (pdf)
Verde, M.
F., Macmillan, N. A., & Rotello, C. M. (2006). Measures of
sensitivity based on a single hit rate and false-alarm rate: The accuracy,
precision, and robustness of d′,
Az, and A′. Perception &
Psychophysics, 68, 643-654. (pdf)
Macmillan,
N. A., Rotello, C. M., & Verde, M. F. (2005). On the importance of
models in interpreting remember-know experiments: Comments on Gardiner
et al.'s (2002) meta-analysis. Memory, 13, 607-621. (pdf)
Verde,
M. F., Murphy, G. L.,
& Ross, B. H. (2005). Influence
of multiple categories on the prediction of unknown properties.
Memory
& Cognition, 33, 479-487. (pdf)
Verde,
M. F. (2004). Associative
interference
in recognition memory: A
dual-process account. Memory
& Cognition, 32, 1273-1283.
(pdf)
Verde, M. F.
(2004). The
retrieval practice effect in
associative recognition. Memory
& Cognition, 32, 1265-1272.
(pdf)
Verde, M. F., &
Rotello,
C. M. (2004). Strong memories
obscure weak memories in associative recognition.
Psychonomic
Bulletin & Review, 11,
1062-1066.
(pdf)
Verde, M. F., & Rotello,
C. M. (2004). ROC curves show
that the
revelation effect is not a single phenomenon. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11,
560-566.
(pdf)
Verde, M.
F., & Rotello,
C. M. (2003). Does
familiarity change in
the revelation effect? Journal
of Experimental Psychology:
Learning, Memory and Cognition, 29,
739-746. (pdf)
Research Funding
Economic and Social Research Council: Decision-making in recognition: A multi-dimensional SDT approach. £91,505 (RES-000-22-3208) (Period 2009-10).
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