Skip to main content
NCBI home page
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias logoLink to American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
. 2010 Nov;25(7):576–584. doi: 10.1177/1533317510382284

The Generation Effect in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment

María González-Nosti 1, Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla 2, Fernando Cuetos 3
PMCID: PMC10845521  PMID: 20930187

Abstract

The generation effect (GE) has been proven as an effective technique to improve learning and memory in healthy and clinical populations. However, it has not been found with meaningless materials such as pseudowords. Several hypotheses postulate the participation of semantic memory in the information-generating process. There is indeed a clear decrease in the effect in patients with serious semantic memory disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but, if this is correct, other patients whose memory disorders are not so serious, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), should show GE to some extent. To test this hypothesis, we examined 54 participants (18 healthy adults, 18 patients with AD, and 18 with MCI) in a task involving reading and completion of phrases. Results show a decreased (although obvious) GE in patients with MCI. Likewise, results indicate that greater semantic damage will lead to poorer performance with less familiar stimuli or low-frequency words.

Keywords: generation effect, dementia of the Alzheimer type, mild cognitive impairment, semantic memory, word frequency

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (300.8 KB).

Contributor Information

María González-Nosti, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain, mgnosti@gmail.com .

Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.

Fernando Cuetos, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.

References

  1. Baddeley A. , Wilson BA When implicit learning fails: amnesia and the problem of error elimination . Neuropsychologia. 1994;32(1): 53-68. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Glisky EL, Schacter DL, Tulving E. Learning and retention of computer-related vocabulary in memory-impaired patients: method of vanishing cues. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol . 1986;8(3):292-312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Slamecka NJ, Graf P. The generation effect: delineation of a phenomenon. J Exp Psychol Hum Learn. 1978;4(6):592-604. [Google Scholar]
  4. Basso MR, Lowery N., Ghormley C., Combs D., Johnson J. Self-generated learning in people with multiple sclerosis. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2006;12(5):640-648. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Einstein GO, McDaniel MA, Bowers CA, et al. Memory for prose: the influence of relational and proposition-specific encoding. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1984. ;10(1):133-143. [Google Scholar]
  6. Derwinger A. , Stigsdotter Neely A., Bäckman L. Design your own memory strategies! Self-generated strategy training versus mnemonic training in old age: An 8-month follow-up. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2005;15(1):37-54. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kinjo H., Snodgrass JG Does generation effect occur for pictures? Am J Psychol . 2000;113(1):95-121. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lutz J., Briggs A. Cain K. An examination of the value of the generation effect for learning new material . J Gen Psychol. 2003;130(2):171-188. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. McElroy LA, Slamecka NJ Memorial consequences of generating nonwords: implications for semantic-memory interpretations of the generation effect. J Verb Learn Verb Behav. 1982;21:249-259. [Google Scholar]
  10. Mulligan NW The generation effect: dissociating enhanced item memory and disrupted order memory. Mem Cognit. 2002;30(6):850-861. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nairne JS, Widner RL Jr. Generation effects with nonwords: the role of test appropriateness . J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1987;13(1):164-171. [Google Scholar]
  12. Gardiner JM , Hampton JA Semantic memory and the generation effect: Some tests of the lexical activation hypothesis. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1985;11(4):732-741. [Google Scholar]
  13. Begg I., Snider A., Foley F., et al. The generation effect is not an artifact: generating makes words distinctive. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1989;15(5):977-989. [Google Scholar]
  14. Taconnat L. , Isingrini M. Cognitive operations in the generation effect on a recall test: role of aging and divided attention. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2004;30(4):827-837. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Chiaravalloti ND, DeLuca J. Self-Generation as a means of maximizing learning in multiple sclerosis: An application of the generation effect. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002;83(8):1070-1079. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. DeLuca J., Schultheis MT, Madigan NK, Christodoulou C., Averill A. Acquisition versus retrieval deficits in traumatic brain injury: implications for memory rehabilitation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2000. ;81(10):1327-1333. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Barrett AM, Crucian GP, Schwartz RL, Heilman KM Testing memory for self-generated items in dementia. Neurology . 2000;54(6):1258-1264. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Mitchell DB , Hunt RR, Schmitt FA The generation effect and reality monitoring: Evidence from dementia and normal aging. J Gerontol. 1986;41(1):79-84. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Dick MB, Kean ML, Sands D. Memory for internally generated words in Alzheimer-type dementia: breakdown in encoding and semantic memory. Brain Cogn. 1989;9(1):88-108. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Multhaup KS , Balota DA Generation effects and source memory in healthy older adults and in adults with dementia of the Alzheimer type . Neuropsychology. 1997;11(3):382-391. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Burns DJ The generation effect: a test between single and multifactor theories . J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1990;16(6):1060-1067. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Donaldson W. , Bass M. Relational information and memory for problem solutions. J Verb Learn Verb Behav. 1980;19(1):26-35. [Google Scholar]
  23. Hirshman E. , Bjork RA The generation effect: Support for a two-factor theory. J Exp Psychol Gen. 1988;14(3):484-494. [Google Scholar]
  24. Kinoshita S. Generation enhances semantic processing? The role of distinctiveness in the generation effect. Mem Cognit . 1989;17(5):563-571. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. McDaniel MA , Waddill PJ Generation effects for context words: implications for item-specific and multi-factor theories. J Mem Lang. 1990;29(2):201-211. [Google Scholar]
  26. McDaniel MA , Waddill PJ, Einstein GO A contextual account of the generation effect: a three-factor theory. J Mem Lang . 1988;27(5):521-536. [Google Scholar]
  27. McElroy LA The generation effect with homographs: evidence for post-generation processing . Mem Cognit. 1987; 15(2):148-153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Mulligan NW Generation and hypermnesia. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2001;27(2):436-450. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Pesta BJ, Sanders RE, Murphy MD A beautiful day in the neighborhood: what factors determine the generation effect for simple multiplication problems? Mem Cognit. 1999;27(1):106-115. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Jacoby LL On interpreting the effects of repetition: solving a problem versus remembering a solution. J Verb Learn Verb Behav. 1978;22:649-667. [Google Scholar]
  31. Fiedler K., Lachnit H., Fay D., Krug C. Mobilization of cognitive resources and the generation effect. Q J Exp Psychol A. 1992;45(1):149-171. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Gollub D., Healy AF Word recall as a function of sentence context. Bull Psychon Soc. 1987;25:359-360. [Google Scholar]
  33. McFarland CEJ , Frey TJ, Rhodes DD Retrieval of internally versus externally generated words in episodic memory. J Verb Learn Verb Behav . 1980;19(2):210-225. [Google Scholar]
  34. Taconnat L. , Isingrini M. Mémoire et Vieillissement: Effet de la difficulté d’un tâche de production sur une tâche de rappel libre [Aging and memory: effect of the difficulty of the generation task on a free recall test]. Annee Psychol . 1996; 96(1):67-84. [Google Scholar]
  35. De Winstanley PA, Bjork EL, Bjork RA Generation effect and the lack thereof: the role of transfer-appropiate processing. Memory. 1996;4(1):31-48. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. De Winstanley PA, Bjork EL Processing instructions and the generation effect: a test of the multifactor transfer-appropiate processing theory. Memory. 1997;5(3):401-421. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Steffens MC , Erdfelder E. Determinants of positive and negative generation effects in free recall. Q J Exp Psychol. 1998;51(4): 705-733. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. McNamara DS , Healy AF A procedural explanation of the generation effect: the use of an operand retrieval strategy for multiplication and additional problems. J Mem Lang. 1995;34(3): 399-416. [Google Scholar]
  39. Martin A. The representation of object concepts in the brain. Annu Rev Psychol. 2007;58:25-45. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Noppeney U. , Patterson K., Tyler LK, et al. Temporal lobe lesions and semantic impairment: a comparison of herpes simplex virus encephalitis and semantic dementia. Brain. 2007;130(pt 4): 1138-1147. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Davis MH, Johnsrude IS Hierarchical processing in spoken language comprehension. J Neurosci. 2003;23(8):3423-3431. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Giraud AL, Kell C., Thierfelder C., et al. Contributions of sensory input, auditory search and verbal comprehension to cortical activity during speech processing. Cereb Cortex . 2004;14(3): 247-255. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Hart J., Gordon B. Delineation of single-word semantic comprehension deficits in aphasia, with anatomical correlation. Ann Neurol. 1990. ;27(3):226-231. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Rodd JM, Davis MH, Johnsrude IS The neural mechanisms of speech comprehension: fMRI studies of semantic ambiguity . Cereb Cortex. 2005;15(8):1261-1269. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Braak H., Braak E. Neuropathological stageing of Alzheimer-related changes. Acta Neuropathol. 1991;82(4):239-259. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Cuetos F., González-Nosti M., Martínez C. The picture-naming task in the analysis of cognitive deterioration in Alzheimer’s disease. Aphasiology. 2005;19(6):545-557. [Google Scholar]
  47. Grossman M. , Robinson K., Bernhardt N., Koenig P. A rule-based categorization deficit in Alzheimer’s disease? Brain Cogn. 2001;45(2):265-276. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Martin A., Fedio P. Word production and comprehension in Alzheimer’s disease: the breakdown of semantic knowledge. Brain Lang. 1983;19(1):124-141. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Cuetos F., Dobarro A., Martínez C. Conceptual decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurologia . 2005;20(2):58-64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Astell AJ, Harley TA Naming problems in dementia: semantic or lexical. Aphasiology . 1998;12:357-374. [Google Scholar]
  51. Petersen RC , Smith GE, Waring SC, Ivnik RJ, Tangalos EG, Kokmen E. Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome. Arch Neurol . 1999;56(3):303-308. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Burns DJ, Curti E., Lavin JC The effects of generation on item and order retention in immediate and delayed recall. Mem Cognit. 1993;21(6):846-852. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. McKhann G., Drachman D., Folstein M., et al. Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Departament of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurology . 1984;34(7):939-944. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Grupo de Estudio de Neurología de la Conducta y Demencias. Guías en demencias: Conceptos, Criterios y Recomendaciones Para el Estudio Del Paciente Con Demencia. Barcelona, Spain: Masson; 2002. [Google Scholar]
  55. Lengenfelder J., Chiaravalloti ND, DeLuca J. The efficacy of the generation effect in improving new learning in persons with traumatic brain injury. Rehabil Psicol. 2007;52(3):290-296. [Google Scholar]
  56. O’Brien A., Chiaravalloti N., Arango-Lasprilla JC, Lengenfelder J., DeLuca J. An investigation of the differential effect of self-generation to improve learning and memory in multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. Neuropsychol Rehabil . 2007;17(3): 273-292. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Sebastián N., Martí MA, Carreiras MF, Cuetos F. LEXESP: Léxico Informatizado Del Español . Barcelona, Spain: Edicions Universitat de Barcelona; 2000. . [Google Scholar]
  58. O’Neill W., Roy L., Tremblay R. A translation-based generation effect in bilingual recall and recognition. Mem Cognit. 1993;21(4):488-495. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Watkins MJ, Sechler ES Generation effect with an incidental memorization procedure. J Mem Lang. 1988;27(5):537-544. [Google Scholar]
  60. Kane JH, Anderson RC Depth of processing and interference effects in the learning and remembering of sentences. J Educ Psicol. 1978;70(4):626-635. [Google Scholar]
  61. Slamecka NJ , Fevreiski J. The generation effect when generation fails . J Verb Learn Verb Behav. 1983;22(2):153-163. [Google Scholar]
  62. Glanzer M., Adams JK The mirror effect in recognition memory. Mem Cognit . 1985;13(1):8-20. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  63. Balota DA, Burgess GC, Cortese MJ, Adams DR The word-frequency mirror effect in young, old and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease: Evidence for two processes in episodic recognition performance. J Mem Lang. 2002;46(1):199-226. [Google Scholar]
  64. Roediger HL , Karpicke JD Test-enhanced learning: taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychol. Sci. 2006;17(3): 249-255. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES