Replication of recall-based memory phenomena via an online experiment

Abstract

Conducting psychological experiments online has become popular in Japan and is useful for psychological research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies found that well-known psychological phenomena were successfully observed through online experiments. However, using recall tests, including a free recall test or a cued recall test, might be difficult in an online experiment. This is because the suggestion function, which is included in the Input Method Editor (IME), can aid recall when participants type their response. Recently, a plugin for online experiments, which might overcome this problem, was developed. However, it remains unclear if this technique is effective for psychological studies that use recall tests. Therefore, I examined whether false memory and retrieval-induced forgetting were replicated by recall tests in online experiments when the IME was bypassed by using the plugin. The results indicated that false recall and retrieval-induced forgetting were successfully observed. Given my results, online experiments using some types of recall tests can be conducted without the suggestion function.