Distinctiveness and Memory

Research relevant to the topic of distinctiveness and memory has a history that dates back over 100 years and boasts a literature of well over 2,000 published articles. Throughout this history, numerous theories of distinctiveness and memory have been offered and subsequently refined, yet there has never been a published survey of the current state of the research. The present volume represents the first such survey. Included in this volume are sections on basic theory and behavioral research on distinctiveness, research and theory on bizareness effects, distinctiveness effects implicit memory, the development of distinctiveness across the life-span, distinctiveness in social context, and the neuroscience of distinctiveness and memory. Each chapter contains a relevant review of the literature as well as the latest research on the topic. The final chapter of this volume is written by Fergus Craik--a pioneer of modern distinctiveness research. In his chapter, Dr. Craik offers his current perspective on distinctiveness and evaluates the various views of distinctiveness expressed in the volume.

R. Reed Hunt received his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico and taught at Dartmouth College, Furman University, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro, before joining the faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Much of his research has been devoted to characterizing the psychological processes that are distinctiveness in memory.

James B. Worthen received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology with emphases in cognition and social cognition from Texas Tech University in 1995. Dr. Worthen has held positions at Michigan Technological University and the University of Texas at Brownsville. He now teaches and conducts research at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he also serves as the Director of the Graduate Program in Psychology.