Examining the Effects of Real-World Experience on Lab-Based Scene Memory

Boundary extension (BE) is as an error in scene memory, such that participants retrieve details beyond the given boundaries of a scene image. Boundary contraction (BC) is the opposite effect, whereby participants retrieve less context within the boundaries of a given scene image. Some research supports the view that BE reflects (re)construction of the scene from an internal representation that was formed, whereas other research supports the view that BE (and BC) emerge from image-based properties. This study tested the influence of familiarity on scene recognition through the comparison of lab-based encoding of images of pre-experimentally familiar (real-world) places with images of unfamiliar places. There was a tendency for BC across both image conditions, with evidence of maintained, and an instance of greater, BC for familiar than unfamiliar scene images. Importantly, the lack of evidence for increased BE with greater familiarity favours an image-based theoretical account of BE and BC.