Free recall

Free recall is an aspect of memory in which a person remembers items from a list or details from a scene without regard for the order in which they originally occurred. The term refers both to this type of memory and to the test that psychologists and other experts use to determine how memory works.

In testing scenarios, the list often contains names of random objects that are presented over a short period of time. Depending on the parameters of the test, the test participants may then be allowed to rest or take part in other activities before being asked to recall as many of the items from the list as possible. It is called free recall because the participants are not required to remember the items in any particular order. Alternatively, the participants may be asked to look at a picture and list as many details as possible in no specific order.

Free recall is important because its use in testing scenarios helps researchers understand how human memory works. Free recall also has practical applications. It plays a role in everything from remembering grocery lists to the reliability of eyewitnesses in legal cases.

Background

Memory is the process by which the brain receives, encodes, and saves information and then finds it again. This happens by means of the senses working together with various parts of the brain. The three main forms of memory are sensory, short-term, and long-term.

Sensory memory is the immediate perception of something experienced through any of the senses. When something is seen, heard, tasted, smelled, or felt by touch, an instant and temporary memory of the experience is created. The input is then moved to short-term memory, which is sometimes called the working memory. This is where the information is considered and available for use in the present and immediate future. Events, experiences, and information can also be stored in the long-term memory. This part of the memory, which is sometimes more formally known as the semantic or episodic memory, encodes patterns and events for retrieval over longer periods of time.

The free recall process uses both the short-term and long-term memory. The number of items a person can remember during a free recall exercise is affected by both the recency effect—or how recently the items were presented to the person—and the primacy effect—or the first items on the list. This is known as the serial position effect and was the subject of significant research by Bennet Murdock (1924-2022) in the 1960s. Since the recency effect involves short-term memory and the primacy effect involves the application of long-term memories, researchers are able to determine both are involved in aspects of free recall.

How well information is stored in any form of memory is subject to a number of factors in addition to recency and primacy. Genetics, stress, brain injury, emotional trauma, and diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease can all impact and limit the ability to remember. In addition, other outside influences can affect how accurately a person forms and stores memories, such as how important the information is to the person and how familiar the person is with the information that is presented. Research has also determined that people are often affected by the power of suggestion and can be convinced that something has happened or has happened in a way other than the way it occurred. The use of free recall testing and exercises is part of the way researchers experiment with people’s ability to recall things as a way of understanding the overall memory process.

Overview

Free recall may be tested in a number of ways. One of the most common is to present a list of single words or short phrases. These are often read to a person or presented on a computer screen with a short interval of a few seconds between each item. Alternatively, the test participant may be given a list of words and a short period of time to study it. Depending on the intent of the experiment, the participant may then be presented with a task called a distractor intended to redirect their thinking from the list, allowed to rest for a time, or be dismissed to a later time. Following this, the participant will be asked to recall as many of the items from the list as possible, in any order.

Another form of free recall testing involves showing the test participant a picture or drawing for a visual recall test. For a test involving a photo, the participant will be asked to recall details of the photo. During drawing recall tests, the participant is shown a line drawing and asked to duplicate it without continuing to view it. In either case, the lack of limitations on the order in which the participant produces memories of the image make it a free recall exercise.

Free recall testing can be structured in various ways to test different aspects of memory. For instance, the tester can allow longer or shorter periods of time between items, can add stress to the equation (for example, asking a person to listen to the list while the individual’s hand is in ice water), or can allow more or less time between presenting the information and asking for recall. The testers will record not only what items are recalled but also where they appeared on the original list to identify and track the serial position effect. They might also provide several different lists before asking for recall. Noting if the participant combines words from different lists can provide input on how the brain forms patterns and the effects of familiarity and personal importance in recall.

In addition to the insight it can provide on how the memory process works, free recall testing is a way to measure directed attention. This is the brain’s ability to exclude some information to allow it to focus on other information. Directed attention is an important factor in clear thinking, impulse control, and setting and achieving goals.

Bibliography

Bainbridge, Wilma A., et al. "Drawings of Real-world Scenes during Free Recall Reveal Detailed Object and Spatial Information in Memory." Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-13, doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07830-6. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

Dawson. M.R.W. “Free Recall.” Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 12 Oct. 1995, penta.ufrgs.br/edu/telelab/3/free‗rec.htm. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

“Free Recall as a Learning Technique.” Art of Memory, Jan. 2017, forum.artofmemory.com/t/free-recall-as-a-learning-technique/32247. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

McDonald, Hal. “Remembering Under Pressure.” Psychology Today, 15 Sept. 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/time-travelling-apollo/201609/remembering-under-pressure. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

McLeod, Saul. “Serial Position Effect (Glanzer & Cunitz, 1966).” Simply Psychology, 10 June 2024, www.simplypsychology.org/primacy-recency.html. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

Polyn, Sean M., et al. "Task Context and Organization in Free Recall." Neuropsychologia, vol. 47, no. 11, 2009, p. 2158, doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.02.013. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

“What Is Memory.” Psychology Today, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/memory. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.