Backward recognition failure: A case of retrieval success

Tulving and Wiseman (1975) have demonstrated that a systematic relationship exists between the recognition probability of recallable words and the overall level of recognition. However, this relationship has only been shown in the paradigms examining “forward” recognition failure, as defined by Rabinowitz, Mandler and Barsalou (1977). A reanalysis of their data shows that just such a systematic relationship exists in “backward” recognition failure experiments, and a model developed from the tenets of Fragmentation Theory is shown to predict this. A critical experiment which falsifies the dual-coding, dual-access model used by Rabinowitz et al. (1977) is also reported, thereby extending the generality of the Fragmentation Model.