Research Article Associative and Categorical Relations in the Associative Memory Illusion

ABSTRACT—What kinds of associations underlie the asso-ciative memory illusion? In Experiment 1, lists composed of horizontal, or coordinate, free associates elicited false recognition of critical lures much more often than did lists composed of vertical, or subordinate, category instances. Experiment 2 replicated this result, and showed that the difference between free associates and category instances was not an artifact of differential levels of forward or backward associative strength. Associative structure plays an important role in the associative memory illusion: The illusion is strongest when the critical lure lies at the same level of categorization as the studied items. Memory, like perception, is subject to illusions. In memory il-lusions, a person either remembers an event that did not occur at all or remembers an event that did occur in a manner that se