Accessing distant analogues over surface matches: How efficient is our retrieval system?

Abstract

A crucial aspect of human memory concerns the ability to retrieve analogous situations whose individual objects do not resemble those of the cues (distant analogues). Recent studies using a cued-recall paradigm suggest that distant analogues are more frequently retrieved than disanalogous situations that maintain a small set of object similarities with the cues (objects-only (OO) matches). In the first experiment of the present study, one condition had a distant analogue compete in long-term memory with an OO match involving a higher number of object similarities than in prior research. In another condition, the distant analogue competed in memory with a situation whose individual objects and first-order relations resembled those of the target (R+O matches) but yielded partial structural similarities that were insufficient for projecting meaningful inferences. Experiment 2 replicated this procedure with distant analogues whose similarity with the target only became apparent at higher levels of abstraction. In both experiments, retrieval rates of distant analogues were similar to those of OO matches, lower than those of R+O matches, and lower when competing against R+O matches than against OO matches. These results bear important implications for the current debate about the adequacy of our memory systems for the prospects of analogical transfer.