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Haridi, S. ; Schulz, E. ; Thalmann, M.

Context size and set size effects: The relevance of specific cues when searching long-term memory.

Computational Brain & Behavior, DOI: 10.1007/s42113-025-00255-7 (2025)
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Retrieving the relevant information from our knowledge and experiences poses a challenging problem to our memory system. In this study, we explore how retrieval of specific pieces of information from long-term memory is affected by the number of items to be remembered and by the characteristics of retrieval cues. Specifically, we looked at whether an increased semantic similarity between cue and target improves recall and whether additional context cues aid retrieval depending on their features and specificity. Using a cued-recall task, we observed across three experiments that increasing the number of learned word pairs slowed reaction times (RTs) and reduced retrieval accuracy. This effect was modulated by context: set size effects did not extend across multiple, unrelated lists. Semantic similarity between cues and targets consistently facilitated retrieval, independent of set size. Experiment 2 revealed no effect of additional visual context cues on RTs, while Experiment 3 demonstrated that larger semantic contexts hindered recall, leading to slower RTs and lower accuracy compared to unrelated lists. These findings are consistent with predictions from a model of memory portraying retrieval as a sequential search through a semantic network.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Relevance
Language english
Publication Year 2025
HGF-reported in Year 2025
ISSN (print) / ISBN 2522-0861
e-ISSN 2522-087X
Journal Computational Brain & Behavior
Publisher Springer
Institute(s) Human-Centered AI (HCA)
POF-Topic(s) 30205 - Bioengineering and Digital Health
Research field(s) Enabling and Novel Technologies
PSP Element(s) G-540011-001
DOI 10.1007/s42113-025-00255-7
Scopus ID 105012861731
Erfassungsdatum 2025-10-13
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