Recall (memory)
Recall in the context of memory refers to the process of retrieving information from one’s past experiences without the presence of external cues. It is a fundamental aspect of memory research, distinct from recognition, which involves identifying previously encountered information. Recall can occur in various forms, including free recall, cued recall, and serial recall. Free recall allows individuals to retrieve items from memory in any order, while cued recall involves using prompts to trigger memory retrieval of associated items. Serial recall requires recalling items in the exact order they were presented, which tends to be more challenging.
Theories regarding recall, such as the generate-recognize model and Endel Tulving's theory of encoding specificity, explore the mechanisms behind how recall works and the factors influencing its effectiveness. Research has highlighted phenomena like the primacy and recency effects, which describe tendencies to remember items from the beginning or end of a list more easily. Context also plays a significant role in enhancing recall, suggesting that information is better retrieved when the conditions during encoding and retrieval are similar. Understanding recall is essential for various applications, including education and cognitive psychology, as it sheds light on how we remember and learn from our experiences.
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Subject Terms
Recall (memory)
Memory is the encoding, storage, and recall, or retrieval, of past experiences. As one of the core processes of memory, recall is one of the primary areas of memory research. Recall and recognition are the two ways one can access memories. Recall is the act of remembering an event, fact, or object that is not physically in one’s presence. Such an act necessitates the direct accessing of information from one’s memory. Examples of recall include answering fill-in-the-blank test questions and remembering the name that goes with a familiar face. Recognition, the other means of memory access, depends on comparing an object, event, or person with one that the individual has already experienced or encountered and making the association or deciding that there is no association, no prior experience. Examples of recognition include answering true/false or multiple-choice test questions and realizing that someone’s face is familiar (without necessarily knowing the person’s name).
Overview
One theory of recall is the generate-recognize model. In this model, recall requires two steps: generation or search, and recognition or decision. Recognition, on the other hand, requires only the second step in this model and is therefore considered simpler and more efficient than recall. In 1979, Michael J. Watkins and John M. Gardiner, two critics of the model, wrote that while the model accounted for some experimental findings, it could not account for all of them.
In the 1980s, Endel Tulving put forth the theory of encoding specificity, an alternate to the generate-recognize model. Tulving’s theory stated that memory uses data from the specific memory trace as well as from the retrieval environment, or context from which the trace is retrieved. By emphasizing the importance of context and context clues, Tulving’s model explains why recognition is not always better than recall. For instance, in practice when encoding or learning and recall take place in similar emotional situations or physical environments, recall tends to be more dependable than recognition. In other words, individuals are more likely to recall items if the recall cues are the same as or are like the encoding cues.
Free recall, cued recall, and serial recall are the three primary forms of recall. Researchers have observed different effects with each form.
Free recall is when someone is asked to memorize and recall a list of items in any order. In experiments involving free recall, researchers observed what is known as the “primacy effect”: the tendency to recall items that appeared at the beginning of a memorized list sooner and more frequently. Researchers also noted recency effects, the greater likelihood of recalling items at the end of a list with greater ease and frequency. The contiguity effect is a propensity for items that are grouped together in a list to be remembered successively.
Serial recall, the recall of a list of items in correct sequence, is a more difficult task than free recall. In addition to primacy and recency effects, the time interval between the memorization of the list and the serial recall of the list appears to affect the ability of the participant to recall items in the correct sequence. List length also effects serial recall; recollection declines as the list becomes longer.
Cued recall, also known as “paired associates,” is when someone is asked to memorize a list of paired items and then is given one of the items as a cue or prompt to recall the other item in the pair. Researchers have observed that forward cued recall is easier and more reliable than backward recall of the cues.
Bibliography
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