Retrieval in cued recall

Three experiments examined retrieval in a cued recall paradigm by manipulating the pattern of output cues. In the first two experiments, subjects were paced through recall of a categorized list by recalling one word at a time in response to a category name as a retrieval cue. The pattern of these output cues exerted a strong influence on performance. Subjects recalled considerably more when the cues were blocked by category than when required to recall successive words from different categories. This output effect increased over trials, and was interpreted in terms of a model in which subjects develop a retrieval strategy that can be interfered with by the circumstances of output. The last experiment contrasted structural and strategy models in a hierarchical recall paradigm. Subjects were given a set of postinput recall cues that either made evident the hierarchical structure of the input list or contained the same cue words but with no hierarchical information. Information about the hierarchical structure improved performance even when provided only during recall. The data were discuss in terms of recent models of recall, and a compromise was suggested.     

Age- and task-related differences in the use of category-size information for the retrieval of categorized items

Both the accuracy of category-size information and its use during the retrieval of categorized materials were investigated among kindergarten (5-year-old) and third-grade (8-year-old) children. Subjects were asked for free recall of a 34-item, categorized list wherein eight categories contained varying numbers of items. Subjects recalled items under either limited-time or unlimited-time conditions. Additionally, subjects were tested under one of three instructions: they were provided with the size of each category (Informed group), they were asked to estimate the size of each category (Estimation group), or they were given standard free recall instructions. Analysis of both the amount recalled and intercategory pause times indicated that third-graders' use of category size information was spontaneous, while kindergartners used the size information only when explicitly provided with it or asked for size estimates. Also, kindergartners' estimates of category size were much more in error than those of third-graders, although both groups erred on the side of underestimation. Importantly, when recall time limitations made the use of exhaustive category search less appropriate, third-graders were more apt to modify their search strategies.     

Is expanding retrieval a superior method for learning text materials?

Expanding retrieval practice refers to the idea that gradually increasing the spacing interval between repeated tests ought to promote optimal long-term retention. Belief in the superiority of this technique is widespread, but empirical support is scarce. In addition, virtually all research on expanding retrieval has examined the learning of word pairs in paired-associate tasks. We report two experiments in which we examined the learning of text materials with expanding and equally spaced retrieval practice schedules. Subjects studied brief texts and recalled them in an initial learning phase. We manipulated the spacing of the repeated recall tests and examined final recall 1 week later. Overall we found that (1) repeated testing enhanced retention more than did taking a single test, (2) testing with feedback (restudying the passages) produced better retention than testing without feedback, but most importantly (3) there were no differences between expanding and equally spaced schedules of retrieval practice. Repeated retrieval enhanced long-term retention, but how the repeated tests were spaced did not matter.     

Retrieval-induced forgetting: Evidence for a recall-specific mechanism

Previous work has shown that recalling information from long-term memory can impair the long-term retention of related representations—a phenomenon known as retrieval-induced forgetting (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). We report an experiment in which the question of whether retrieval is necessary to induce this form of impairment was examined. All the subjects studied six members from each of eight taxonomic categories (e.g.,fruit orange). In the competitive practice condition, the subjects practiced recalling three of the six members, using category-stem cues (e.g.,fruit or____). In the noncompetitive practice condition, the subjects were reexposed to these same members for the same number of repetitions but were asked to recall the category name by using the exemplar and a stem as cues (e.g.,fr____orange). Despite significant and comparable facilitation of practiced items in both conditions, only the competitive practice subjects were impaired in their ability to recall the nonpracticed members on a delayed cued-recall test. These findings argue that retrieval-induced forgetting is not caused by increased competition arising from the strengthening of practiced items, but by inhibitory processes specific to the situation of recall.     

Part-list cuing in amnesic patients: evidence for a retrieval deficit

Part-list cuing--the detrimental effect of the presentation of a subset of learned items on recall of the remaining items--was examined in amnesic patients and healthy control subjects. Subjects studied two types of categorized item lists: lists in which each category consisted of strong and moderate items and lists in which each category consisted of weak and moderate items. The subjects recalled a category's strong and weak items in either the presence of or absence of the moderate items serving as retrieval cues. In healthy subjects, part-list cuing impaired recall of the strong items but not of the weak items; in amnesics, part-list cuing impaired recall of both types of items. Part-list cuing is often attributed to a change in the retrieval process from a more effective one when cues are absent to a less effective one when they are present. On the basis of this view, our results indicate that part-list cuing causes a stronger retrieval inefficiency in amnesic patients than in healthy people.     

Retrieval practice enhances the accessibility but not the quality of memory

Numerous studies have demonstrated that retrieval from long-term memory (LTM) can enhance subsequent memory performance, a phenomenon labeled the retrieval practice effect. However, the almost exclusive reliance on categorical stimuli in this literature leaves open a basic question about the nature of this improvement in memory performance. It has not yet been determined whether retrieval practice improves the probability of successful memory retrieval or the quality of the retrieved representation. To answer this question, we conducted three experiments using a mixture modeling approach (Zhang & Luck, 2008) that provides a measure of both the probability of recall and the quality of the recalled memories. Subjects attempted to memorize the color of 400 unique shapes. After every 10 images were presented, subjects either recalled the last 10 colors (the retrieval practice condition) by clicking on a color wheel with each shape as a retrieval cue or they participated in a control condition that involved no further presentations (Experiment 1) or restudy of the 10 shape/color associations (Experiments 2 and 3). Performance in a subsequent delayed recall test revealed a robust retrieval practice effect. Subjects recalled a significantly higher proportion of items that they had previously retrieved relative to items that were untested or that they had restudied. Interestingly, retrieval practice did not elicit any improvement in the precision of the retrieved memories. The same empirical pattern also was observed following delays of greater than 24 hours. Thus, retrieval practice increases the probability of successful memory retrieval but does not improve memory quality.     

Does Providing Prompts During Retrieval Practice Improve Learning?

The purpose of this investigation was to identify ways to prompt retrieval practice to make recall even more effective at producing meaningful learning. In two experiments, subjects read educational texts and practiced retrieval across two periods. During prompted retrieval, subjects were cued to explain and describe concepts from the text, whereas during free recall, subjects recalled as much of the material from the text as they could. A reading control condition was also included. Learning was assessed using both verbatim and higher‐order questions 1 week later. Practicing retrieval improved learning relative to the control on both types of questions; however, whether subjects practiced free or prompted retrieval did not matter for learning. Subjects rated prompted retrieval as less enjoyable and interesting than the other retrieval conditions. Results demonstrate practicing retrieval promoted meaningful learning, and that subjects' initial retrieval success was highest when they used their own retrieval strategies during recall. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Free recall by deaf and hearing children: semantic clustering and recall in trained and untrained groups.

Free recall tasks with semantically categorizable stimuli were given to 60 deaf and 60 hearing children, divided equally among Grades 3, 5, and 7 (ages 9, 11, and 13 years, respectively). Half the children were trained to use semantic categorization as a memory aid after the first study-test trial. All subjects were told category labels and sizes on the third recall trial. As hypothesized, older children showed more spontaneous semantic clustering and higher recall scores than younger children. Training increased clustering in all groups, while the provision of category information at retrieval increased clustering regardless of training condition. Contrary to expectations, deaf children used semantic clustering as much as hearing children. Deaf children's recall scores, however, were significantly lower than hearing children's. The specific contrasts observed between deaf and hearing children's performance suggest that deaf children's recall deficiencies probably reflect either inadequate knowledge of category membership or inflexibility in reclassifying individual items, rather than a general inability to recognize and use the categorical nature of a list as a mnemonic aid.     

Intelligence as the efficiency of cue-driven retrieval from secondary memory

Complex-span (working-memory-capacity) tasks are among the most successful predictors of intelligence. One important contributor to this relationship is the ability to efficiently employ cues for the retrieval from secondary memory. Presumably, intelligent individuals can considerably restrict their memory search sets by using such cues and can thereby improve recall performance. We here test this assumption by experimentally manipulating the validity of retrieval cues. When memoranda are drawn from the same semantic category on two successive trials of a verbal complex-span task, the category is a very strong retrieval cue on its first occurrence (strong-cue trial) but loses some of its validity on its second occurrence (weak-cue trial). If intelligent individuals make better use of semantic categories as retrieval cues, their recall accuracy suffers more from this loss of cue validity. Accordingly, our results show that less variance in intelligence is explained by recall accuracy on weak-cue compared with strong-cue trials.     

Remembering ads: The effects of encoding strategies,retrieval cues,and emotional response

This study uses the encoding specificity principle ( Tulving & Thomson, 1973 ) and the distinction between episodic and semantic knowledge to test predictions about the effects of processing goals and retrieval cues on memory for emotional and neutral TV commercials. Subjects viewed five emotional and five neutral ads embedded in programming. Encoding instructions asked subjects to either (a) evaluate each product or (b) “just watch” as they viewed the ads. Retrieval cues were either the opening scene of each ad (executional cue) or the product category (categorical cue). Both recall and response-time measures were used to index ad memory-trace accessibility. The results showed that when encoding and retrieval conditions were compatible (evaluation instructions with categorical cue, and just-watch instructions with executional cue) ad memory traces were retrieved more rapidly than when encoding and retrieval conditions were incompatible. In addition, subjects who “just watched” emotional ads were able to retrieve those ad memory traces more rapidly when given an executional cue compared to a categorical cue, whereas subjects who evaluated neutral ads at encoding recalled more ads, and retrieved them more rapidly, when given a categorical cue compared to an executional cue. Finally, we show that searching memory first with an executional cue and then with a product-category cue leads to an increase in ad recall for both emotional and neutral ads, whereas searching first with a categorical cue and then with an executional cue leads to a decrease in ad recall for neutral ads.     

The effects of cueing and constraint instructions on children's free recall performance

The performance of nursery school children was investigated in two experiments involving cued and constrained free recall. Under constrained instructions, subjects were required to recall items by category. Under cued instructions subjects could recall items in any order they wished but the organized nature of the lists was identified and subjects were told that they would remember more if they recalled things from the same category together. No effects of cueing instructions were obtained in either Experiment I or Experiment II. Constrained recall instructions led to enhanced recall and category clustering. However, the beneficial effects were not maintained on later trials with the same list or on a transfer list when the constraints on recall were dropped. In addition, the introduction of constrained recall instructions had identical effects whether they were introduced early or late in practice. The results were discussed in terms of the influences of variables which affect the subjects' use of retrieval strategies and the development of memory.     

Remembering computer command names: Effects of subject generation versus experimenter imposition

Two experiments analyzed the effectiveness of goal statements in aiding recall of self-generated as opposed to experimenter-imposed command names. Subjects were presented with a series of before-after pairs representing the computer states before and after a command was executed. In Experiment 1, during study, one group of subjects generated a command name in response to each pair; a second group generated a goal statement describing the goal to be accomplished in addition to generating a command name. During recall, half of each group was required to recall the name, whereas the other half was required to describe the goal before attempting to recall the name. In Experiment 2, during study, command names (and goals for those subjects in the goal condition) were imposed by the experimenter rather than generated by the subject. Subjects who generated goals and names recalled more command names than did those who generated only names or who received imposed goals and/or names. Generation of an appropriate goal at study improved encoding by helping subjects to select more appropriate command names; generation of an appropriate goal at test improved retrieval for appropriate names only, presumably by activating a relevant subset of names. Even in the relatively simple task of naming and remembering command names, having an appropriate model of the domain through the use of specific goal statements substantially improved performance.     

Strong items get suppressed, weak items do not: The role of item strength in output interference

An experiment is reported that examines the role of item strength in output interference. Subjects studied two types of categorized item lists: lists in which each category consisted of strong and moderate items, and lists in which each category consisted of weak and moderate items. Different degrees of item strength were accomplished by varying the items’ taxonomic frequency within a category. The subjects either recalled a category’s strong and weak items before its moderate items, or vice versa. The prior recall of the moderate items impaired the later recall of the strong items, but did not impair the later recall of the weak items. This effect of item strength indicates that output interference is caused by a process of retrieval suppression. It additionally suggests that, in order to minimize output-interference effects in recall, a list’s strong items should be recalled before its weak items.     

Confidence in accuracy moderates the benefits of retrieval practice

ABSTRACT

The effect of Retrieval Practice refers to the phenomenon that taking a practice test is more effective for learning than re-study, probably due to the benefit from processes underlying successful retrievals during practice. However, it is rarely studied whether other processes (e.g., metacognitive monitoring) during retrieval practice may also play an important role. In two experiments, we examined whether the effectiveness of retrieval was affected by subjects’ confidence in their retrieval success. Subjects studied word-pairs and rated their confidence after each practice test trial (cued-recall in Exp.1, multiple choice in Exp.2), or re-study trial. In both experiments, we observed the classic retrieval practice effect. Moreover, in Exp.2, the benefits differed as a function of subjects’ confidence in their retrieval performance: the effect of retrieval practice only emerged for high-confidence trials with higher than 56% confidence. In summary, the retrieval practice only facilitates the retention of correct answers with high confidence.     

Hypermnesia occurs in recall but not in recognition

Two experiments investigated the effect of encoding conditions and type of test (recall vs. recognition) on the phenomenon of hypermnesia (improved performance across repeated tests). Subjects in Experiment 1 studied a list of words using either imaginal or semantic elaboration strategies and then received three successive tests. Different groups of subjects received either free recall, four-alternative forced-choice recognition, or yes/no recognition tests. Reliable hypermnesia was found only in the recall conditions, with the recognition conditions showing either no change in performance levels across tests (forced-choice tests) or significant forgetting (yes/no tests). In Experiment 2, subjects studied a list of words, and encoding was manipulated using three orienting tasks. Once again, hypermnesia was found with the recall tests but not with the forced choice recognition tests. Finding hypermnesia in recall but not in recognition indicates that retrieval processes in recall play a major role in producing hypermnesia. Also, the finding that the magnitude of the recall hypermnesias increased with an increase in total cumulative recall levels across study conditions suggests that cumulative recall levels are an important factor in determining the presence or absence of recall hypermnesia.     

Effects of purpose on the organization and recall of information in person perception1

The first study investigated how the purpose for which information about a person is to be used affects the way a perceiver organizes the information. Subjects were asked to categorize and label episodes which described the behavior of a fictional person “Jill” in 64 different situations, and to summarize what each category meant to them. Half of the episodes were easily categorized according to the traits that Jill manifested, half according to features of the situations. One group (personality impression) expected later to describe Jill's personality, a second group (prediction) expected to make predictions about Jill's behavior, and a third group (recall) expected to be tested on their recall of the episodes. The results indicated that subjects in the behavior prediction group categorized the episodes primarily in terms of the personality characteristics Jill portrayed, just as the personality impression group did. In contrast, only the categories formed by the recall group paralleled the built-in structure of the episodes, i.e., they were as often based on features of the situation as on Jill's personality characteristics. A second study showed that the categorization strategies of the recall subjects actually did produce higher recall than those of the personality impression and behavior prediction subjects. The results were interpreted as suggesting that when making behavioral predictions, just as when forming impressions, the layman, like the traditional trait psychologist, prefers to organize information in terms of personality constructs rather than in a way that facilitates retrieval of everything that happened in specific situations. The cognitive costs as well as the gains produced by this strategy merit further scrutiny.     

The retrieval practice effect in associative recognition

Recalling an item interferes with recall of related memories. Evidence is presented that retrieval interference occurs in associative recognition as well as recall. In Experiment 1, subjects studied pairs of category exemplars. Retrieval practice followed, during which some pairs appeared in a cued recall test. A final test of associative recognition (with remember-know judgments) found lower accuracy and hit rate for nonpracticed pairs belonging to retrieval-practiced categories. In Experiment 2, subjects studied noun pairs from overlapping sets, with study duration manipulated between subjects. Retrieval practice was manipulated by presenting some members of a set in a previous block during the recognition test. With long study duration, retrieval interference was evident in both recognition and remember judgments. With short study duration, it appeared only in remember judgments. These results support a dual-process account in which retrieval interference is specific to recollection and becomes evident in recognition performance only when recollection is sufficiently dominant.     

Memory and metamemory performance in older adults: One deficit or two?

In two separate experiments, three groups of older adults (50-80 years old) were shown lists of forename-surname pairs. At test subjects were cued with the surname and asked whether they knew the forename (prospective evaluation). Subjects attempted recall for those items they claimed to know and rated their confidence in their answer (retrospective evaluation). In Experiment 1 subjects saw the name list on 5 successive occasions and attempted recall after each. The older subjects recalled fewer items, but there were no age differences on retrospective memory evaluation. There was a marginally significant age effect on the prospective memory evaluation, which on closer inspection appeared to be a scaling effect related to recall performance. Experiment 2 verified this conclusion in a sample of older adults taking part in a training study extended over many weeks. The main implication of this work is that studies that compare metamemory accuracy in groups that differ in baseline memory performance should be careful before drawing conclusions about metamemory independently of memory performance.     

MEMORY PROCESSES IN CLASSIFICATION LEARNING:

Abstract— The role of conscious memory retrieval in category learning was investigated, using amnesic patients and matched control subjects ort two classification tasks. Subjects attempted to learn to categorize both dot patterns and the paintings of three Italian Renaissance artists. The amnesic patients were capable of normal classification performance on the dot-pattern stimuli, but were severely impaired at learning to categorize the paintings. On tests of recognition of the classification stimuli, the control subjects were very accurate on the paintings, and only moderately accurate on the dot patterns; the amnesic patients were poorer than the control subjects on both item types, though they were above chance in their recognition of the paintings. These data suggest that amnesic patients are capable of simple, perceptually based category learning, but that richer, more complex stimuli may demand memory retrieval processes that they lack.     

A comparison of two techniques for reducing context-dependent forgetting

Recall is poorer when tested in a new environment than when tested in the original learning context. Two techniques for reducing this context-dependent forgetting were compared. One technique involved instructing subjects to recall their learning room(s), and the other attempted to establish multiple environmental retrieval cues by presenting lists in multiple rooms rather than all in the same room. Subjects were given three word lists to study in one or three rooms. All subjects were given a free-recall test in a new room, and half were asked to use remembered environmental context (EC) information to facilitate word memory. Multiple input contexts benefited only subjects who were uninstructed in the use of EC cues. Subjects given EC-recall instructions, however, recalled somewhat less in the three-room condition than in the one-room condition. The facilitative effects of the two techniques were not additive: EC-recall instructions benefited only one-room subjects. The results suggest that both EC-recall instructions and multiple learning contexts induce subjects to use contextual retrieval cues that are otherwise not spontaneously utilized, and that the greater the number of context cues stored in memory, the less accessible those cues become.