国際ジャーナル掲載情報

Authors: Ishiguro, S., Guitard, D., & Saint-Aubin, J.（石黒翔、ドミニク・ギタール、ジャン・サントーバン）

Title: From stork to baby: Semantic relatedness can improve order memory without grouping（コウノトリから赤ちゃんへ：意味的関連性はグループ化なしで順序記憶を向上させる）

Journal: Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

Doi: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-025-02840-0

論文URL: https://rdcu.be/eYKRn

Abstract:
The literature suggests that semantic relatedness such as semantic association has contrasting effects on working memory (WM): It enhances item memory while it impairs or does not affect order memory. The detrimental or null effect on order memory has been widely accepted and regarded as a benchmark finding. Therefore, it is theoretically important to test the opposite effect, that is, the possibility that semantic relatedness improves order memory. As a form of semantic relatedness, the present study focuses on the directionality of associations. For example, “stork” is associated with “baby” in a forward direction (stork -> baby), but not in a backward direction (stork <- baby). Critically, we hypothesized that associative directions, as a constraint on order, would improve short-term order information recall. Four experiments used six-word lists in which all words had forward associations such as “governance -> ruling -> judge -> robe -> shower -> hot” for immediate serial recall. All experiments converged to show that directional associations indeed improved order memory. Specifically, lists with forward associations led to better order memory, relative to those with non-associations (Experiments 1–3) and those with backward associations (Experiment 4). The results sharply contrast with a widely accepted view that semantic relatedness is neutral or detrimental for order memory. Our novel findings therefore challenge existing models based on the null or detrimental effect. We also discuss how models can potentially explain our findings by incorporating representations of associative directions and/or adopting the process of associative chaining.

Contact: sho.ishiguro[at]umoncton.ca（[at]を@に変更してください。）（モンクトン大学・日本学術振興会　石黒翔）

日本語によるコメント:
WM課題において、意味的に関連する単語を項目とすると（例. リンゴ、バナナ）、無関連な単語を項目とする場合と比べ、順序の記憶は低下するか・同等であることが知られています。この知見はベンチマークとして計算論モデルの評価にも使われる重要なものです。本研究では意味的関連性の一つである方向性を持つ連想に着目し、ベンチマークと相反する実験結果を新たに示しました（例えば、コウノトリと赤ちゃんという単語においては、「コウノトリ→赤ちゃん」という連想はありますが、「コウノトリ←赤ちゃん」という逆向きの連想はないことが連想基準表で示されています）。この新しい結果をチェイニングモデルに基づき考察しました。（石黒）