Nature of discriminating and categorizing functions of verbal labels on recognition memory for shape.

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the hypothesis that the discriminating and categorizing functions of a label associated with an ambiguous shape can differentially influence delayed recognition memory for the shape. The temporal course of shape recognition was measured after the subjects were trained to associate the shapes with relevant verbal labels, irrelevant verbal labels, or no verbal labels. Either immediately or after delays of 15 min or 1 wk, subjects were given a shape recognition test and both free- and aided-recall tests for retention of the associated verbal labels. Results indicated that relevant verbal labels differentially affect memory for shape and that the discriminating function of the label operates effectively at the time of stimulus encoding. The categorizing function of the label affects the changes occurring during the storage stage of memory. These results are interpreted as supporting the view that the courses of shape recognition and relevant label recall are not independent.