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Definition: Source monitoring
Accepted Manuscript Definition: Source Monitoring Karen J. Mitchell PII:
S0010-9452(17)30234-4
DOI:
10.1016/j.cortex.2017.07.009
Reference:
CORTEX 2070
To appear in:
Cortex
Received Date: 9 June 2017 Revised Date:
0010-9452 October 0010-9452
Accepted Date: 15 July 2017
Please cite this article as: Mitchell KJ, Definition: Source Monitoring, CORTEX (2017), doi: 10.1016/ j.cortex.2017.07.009. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Source Monitoring 1 DEFINITION: SOURCE MONITORING
RI PT
Karen J. Mitchell (Department of Psychology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA USA)
Definition
Source monitoring is the mental activity of making attributions about the origin of
SC
subjective experiences. Mental experiences such as perceiving, remembering, believing, creating, etc. typically do not come with a tag or label indicating what they are or where
M AN U
they came from, rather the source of such mental experiences is inferred from the information active in mind at any given time. This information includes source features or characteristics (sometimes called context features), such as perceptual and spatiotemporal details and one's thoughts, feelings, and reactions, which can be at varying levels of
TE D
precision or diagnosticity regarding source. It also includes expectations, stereotypes, metacognitive beliefs, etc. Source monitoring is flexible and subject to error, influenced by individual, interpersonal, and socio-cultural factors; it is sometimes carried out
AC C
automatically.
EP
deliberatively, in a controlled and conscious way, but often is carried out relatively
A distinction can be made between attributions about whether a mental experience
reflects a current event (online source monitoring, e.g., I am tasting the salty cheese now), and attributions about whether a mental experience reflects an event from one's personal past (source memory, e.g., I remember tasting that salty cheese yesterday). Categories of source discrimination can be distinguished based on whether sources are external or internal with regard to one’s self. External source monitoring involves attributions about
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Source Monitoring 2 external (i.e., perceived) sources of a mental experience: I heard that story on the radio this morning, not the TV or my computer; I thought I saw Jon at the demonstration but I actually saw him later at the diner. Reality monitoring involves attributions about the self
RI PT
(internal) vs other (external) sources: I generated that new study idea, not a colleague; I remember my uncle touching me inappropriately when I was a child, although I actually only imagined such an event after reading a self-help book. Reality monitoring can also
SC
involve discriminating between internal sources (sometimes called internal source
monitoring): I remember I told you I’d be late but apparently only thought about it; I
M AN U
intended to send an email but did not actually do so.
Both omission and commission errors are common in everyday source monitoring. Omission errors stem from a lack of available information that specifies the source, such as when one has a feeling of strong familiarity in the absence of specific source details.
TE D
Commission errors are variously referred to as source misattributions, memory distortions, false memories, or misidentifications. Source monitoring errors tend to be more likely in young children and older adults, relative to young adults. Individuals with some types of
EP
clinical conditions, such as focal brain lesions, Alzheimer's disease, behavioral variant
AC C
frontotemporal dementia, schizophrenia, or post traumatic stress disorder, may show significant source monitoring failures, such as unusually high rates of source misattributions, confabulations, hallucinations, or delusions. Acknowledgements
The following authors participated in the open discussion about this definition: P.C. Fletcher, L.A. Henkel, M.K. Johnson, B.G. Kuhlmann, D.S. Lindsay, S.E. MacPherson, C. Ranganath, J.S. Simons.
S0010-9452(17)30234-4
DOI:
10.1016/j.cortex.2017.07.009
Reference:
CORTEX 2070
To appear in:
Cortex
Received Date: 9 June 2017 Revised Date:
0010-9452 October 0010-9452
Accepted Date: 15 July 2017
Please cite this article as: Mitchell KJ, Definition: Source Monitoring, CORTEX (2017), doi: 10.1016/ j.cortex.2017.07.009. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Source Monitoring 1 DEFINITION: SOURCE MONITORING
RI PT
Karen J. Mitchell (Department of Psychology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA USA)
Definition
Source monitoring is the mental activity of making attributions about the origin of
SC
subjective experiences. Mental experiences such as perceiving, remembering, believing, creating, etc. typically do not come with a tag or label indicating what they are or where
M AN U
they came from, rather the source of such mental experiences is inferred from the information active in mind at any given time. This information includes source features or characteristics (sometimes called context features), such as perceptual and spatiotemporal details and one's thoughts, feelings, and reactions, which can be at varying levels of
TE D
precision or diagnosticity regarding source. It also includes expectations, stereotypes, metacognitive beliefs, etc. Source monitoring is flexible and subject to error, influenced by individual, interpersonal, and socio-cultural factors; it is sometimes carried out
AC C
automatically.
EP
deliberatively, in a controlled and conscious way, but often is carried out relatively
A distinction can be made between attributions about whether a mental experience
reflects a current event (online source monitoring, e.g., I am tasting the salty cheese now), and attributions about whether a mental experience reflects an event from one's personal past (source memory, e.g., I remember tasting that salty cheese yesterday). Categories of source discrimination can be distinguished based on whether sources are external or internal with regard to one’s self. External source monitoring involves attributions about
ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Source Monitoring 2 external (i.e., perceived) sources of a mental experience: I heard that story on the radio this morning, not the TV or my computer; I thought I saw Jon at the demonstration but I actually saw him later at the diner. Reality monitoring involves attributions about the self
RI PT
(internal) vs other (external) sources: I generated that new study idea, not a colleague; I remember my uncle touching me inappropriately when I was a child, although I actually only imagined such an event after reading a self-help book. Reality monitoring can also
SC
involve discriminating between internal sources (sometimes called internal source
monitoring): I remember I told you I’d be late but apparently only thought about it; I
M AN U
intended to send an email but did not actually do so.
Both omission and commission errors are common in everyday source monitoring. Omission errors stem from a lack of available information that specifies the source, such as when one has a feeling of strong familiarity in the absence of specific source details.
TE D
Commission errors are variously referred to as source misattributions, memory distortions, false memories, or misidentifications. Source monitoring errors tend to be more likely in young children and older adults, relative to young adults. Individuals with some types of
EP
clinical conditions, such as focal brain lesions, Alzheimer's disease, behavioral variant
AC C
frontotemporal dementia, schizophrenia, or post traumatic stress disorder, may show significant source monitoring failures, such as unusually high rates of source misattributions, confabulations, hallucinations, or delusions. Acknowledgements
The following authors participated in the open discussion about this definition: P.C. Fletcher, L.A. Henkel, M.K. Johnson, B.G. Kuhlmann, D.S. Lindsay, S.E. MacPherson, C. Ranganath, J.S. Simons.