Eye movements reveal memory processes during similarity- and rule-based decision making
Date Issued
2015-03
Abstract
Recent research suggests that when people retrieve information from memory they tend to fixate on the location where the information had appeared during encoding. We used this phenomenon to investigate if different information is activated in memory when people use a rule- versus a similarity-based decision strategy. In two studies, participants first memorized multiple pieces of information about various job candidates (exemplars). In subsequent test trials they judged the suitability of new candidates that varied in their similarity to the previously learned exemplars. Results show that when using similarity, but not when using a rule, participants fixated longer on the previous location of exemplars that resembled the new candidates than on the location of dissimilar exemplars. This suggests that people using similarity retrieve previously learned exemplars, whereas people using a rule do not. The study illustrates that eye movements can provide new insights into the memory processes underlying decision making.
Subjects
Episodic memory
;
Eye movements
;
Looking-at-nothing
;
Multi-cue decision making
;
Process tracing
;
Similarity
Publisher
Elsevier
Type
journal article
Journal/Edited collection
Start page
228
End page
246
Secondary publication
Yes
Document version
Postprint
Language
English
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