Retrieval of Memory

1
Retrieval of Memory

• So, we acquired and retained information. But,
  if you cannot retrieve, then it does not do you
  any good.
• Big question
• What are the ways we retrieve information?
• But, soon we realized that
• encoding and retrieval are intimately related.

2
How do we retrieve?

• Two types of retrieval
• Explicit - direct tests
• Implicit - indirect tests
• Direct tests - Conscious retrieval
• Indirect tests - Unconscious retrieval

3
Direct tests

• Two types
• Recall and Recognition
• Recall
• Free recall or Cued recall
• Recognition
• Yes/No or Forced-choice
• What are the differences?

4
The amount of retrieval cues

• Free recall
• What cues?
• List 1 apple, orange, persimmon, pear
• List 2 cabbage, pepper, carrot, corn
• You can organize these by
• List context cues
• Category cues
• But, at the time of test, you are not provided
  with these cues

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• Cued recall
• You are provided with cues
• e.g., Fruit - ???
• Tulving Psotka (1971)
• Compared free recall and cued recall
• Cued recall is better than free recall
• Cued recall reduced the amount of RI

6
What about recognition?

• Recognition tests provided even greater amount of
  retrieval cues.
• So, which word was in List 1?
• banana, mango, persimmon, kiwi
• Cues present
• List context cue
• Category cue
• Target

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• Based on the amount of cues
• Recognition is often better than cued or free
  recall.
• Is there any thing else different?

8
Generate-Recognize Model

• We may use different processes in recall and
  recognition.
• Kintch (1970)
• Recall - two processes
• Generate
• Recognize
• Recognition - one process
• Recognize

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• Which one is easier?
• Recognition
• Any support?
• Word Frequency effect
• High frequency words are easier to recall than
  low frequency words.
• Low frequency words are easier to recognize than
  high frequency words.

10

• Why?
• High frequency words are easier to generate than
  low frequency words.
• Low frequency words are easier to discriminate
  than high frequency words.

11
But..

• Evidence against the Generate-Recognize model.
• Question - Is recognition always easier than
  recall?
• Generate-Recognize model
• To make recall easier, make generation easier.
• When you do that, recall simply becomes
  recognition.

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• So, recall can be made equally as easy as
  recognition.
• But, it cannot be made easier than recognition.

13
Do you want to bet?

• Tulving and Wiseman (1975)
• Phase 1 - learn words. Cues would help.
• train - Black
• Phase 2 - Recall
• train - ?????
• Phase 3 - Recognition
• Generate words associated with white.
• blue, black, green, pink.
• Which was the studied word?

14
Found
15

• Recall was easier than rececognition.
• Subjects could recall the words they could not
  recognize.
• The model was not supported.
• Then, why recognition is often easier than
  recall?
• Based on interaction between encoding and
  retrieval.

16
Encoding Specificity

• Tulving
• Important - What cues are encoded and what cues
  are present at retrieval.
• At test, which would be a better cue for
  retrieving the word mouse?
• Cheese?
• Boat?
• You cannot tell until you know which cue was
  encoded at study.

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• Encoding
• Cheese Boat
• Cheese
• Retrieval
• Boat

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• What is important is the match in cues between
  encoding and retrieval.
• The same principle applies to
• Context dependent memory
• State dependent memory
• Mood-dependent memory
• Mood-congruent memory

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More recent.

• Not just cues, but the type of processing should
  match.
• Transfer appropriate processing
• Morris et al. (1977)
• Which one is better deep or shallow level of
  processing.

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• At study
• Deep - Does a word fit into a sentence?
• Shallow - Does a word rhyme with beagle?
• Test
• Deep - Standard recognition
• Shallow - Rhyme recognition
• Which words rhymes with the studied words?

21
Found

• Standard recognition was better when processing
  was deep.
• Rhyme recognition was better when processing was
  shallow.
• Its not the depth that is important.
• What is important is whether processing at
  retrieval matches with processing at encoding.

22
New insight

• You cannot ask - What is the best way to study
  for the test?
• Until you know - What kind of test you will
  take.
• Each test - requires different kind of processing.