Memory for Nonoccurrences: Metacognitive and Presuppositional Strategies

Abstract

The present paper explores how people decide that an event has not occurred. We assume that two inferential strategies may underly such a decision. First, a "metacognitive strategy" can be used if a distractor item is judged as memorable, but elicits no clear recollection. Under these two conditions, this strategy leads to a confident rejection. However, if the distractor item is not judged as particularly memorable, alternative inferential strategies will be used, and with less confidence. These predictions were supported by two studies in which the memorability of words was varied by their salience and in which a "presuppositional strategy" was offered that allowed subjects to infer the occurrence of an event from the use of the definite article contained in queries.