Effects of Inter-associate Connectivity on the Persistence of False Recall

False recall of critical non-presented words in lists of associated words was examined with immediate testing and after a one-week delay. The word lists were manipulated such that the density of the inter-associate connectivity – the number pre-existing connections between the associates of the critical non-presented target – was either high or low. When recall occurred immediately after the study phase, high connectivity lists facilitated veridical recall compared to low connectivity lists, but connectivity had no effect on false recall. When recall was delayed for a week, low connectivity lists induced more false recall than high connectivity lists, but connectivity had no effect on veridical recall. The overall pattern of results is broadly consistent with the predictions of the Processing Implicit and Explicit Representations model of associative memory and not with the predictions of Fuzzy Trace Theory.