Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Kersten, Alan

Abstract

Previous research indicates that event boundaries can hinder or facilitate memory. The present study aimed to examine the influence of physical context changes (i.e., event boundaries) on the memory for actors and the actions they performed. Undergraduate participants (N=121) from Florida Atlantic University viewed two different video clip set types of actors performing various actions. The continuous context (CC) video set type included four different actors performing actions in the same physical context. The discontinuous context (DC) video set type contained four actors, the first, second, and fourth actors shown in each set performed actions in the same physical context (e.g., a library), while the third actor in the set performed an action in a different physical context (e.g., a playground). After viewing the videos, memory for the actors and the actions was evaluated using the Person-Action-Conjunction (PAC) test in a retrieval session. Participants provided significantly more ‘yes’ responses to old item than to conjunction items at retrieval. No significant differences in the proportion of ‘yes’ were found between the CC video items and DC video items. These results could be due to the manipulation of physical context not being sufficiently strong to influence event segmentation.

Extent

52 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00013866

Format

pdf

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