Step 2: Read the following textbook passage. Then return to the Lab Manual and complete the outline.

Retrieval

If memory is like a filing cabinet, then retrieval is like the process of opening the drawer and finding a folder that has been filed. The retrieval operation usually goes smoothly; you know which drawer to open and you can find the folder, pull it out, and see the information, which matches the coded label. Likewise, most memory retrieval is fairly easy; we consciously and explicitly try to remember something, and it becomes available more or less effortlessly. But things can get in the way of remembering—you realize when you take a test and cannot remember a fact or concept, even though you know that you have "filed it away." Like everyone, you experience many retrieval failures, situations in which you "know that you know" the information yet cannot access it.

Retrieval is the process by which stored information is recovered from memory. Recalling your Social Security number, remembering the details of an assignment, and listing the names of the Seven Dwarfs are retrieval tasks. A person may encode information quickly, deal with the information in working memory, and enter the information into long-term memory. But once the information is coded and stored, the person must be able to retrieve the information and use it in a meaningful way. It turns out that the ability to retrieve information depends on how retention is measured and how information is encoded and stored.

Retention: Measures of Retrieval

Are you a fan of The Weakest Link, or do you prefer Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Does your preference relate to the difference in difficulty of the two? These two television shows are similar—both require participants to retrieve information that they have stored in memory. They differ in rules and format, but a major difference is the way that each asks participants to access information. The Weakest Link asks participants to recall information by reproducing it, whereas Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? requires participants to recognize information. Psychologists use these two measures of retention, plus another method called relearning. When a person retains information, presumably he or she has acquired (learned) something that was not there previously, and this retained information can later be retrieved.

Recall. In recall tasks, participants have to retrieve previously presented information. Not only The Weakest Link but also fill-in-the-blank and essay exams require recall of information. In experiments, the information usually comprises strings (lists) of digits or letters. A typical study might ask participants to remember 10 items, one of which is presented on the screen every half-second. The participants would then try to repeat the list of 10 items at the end of the 5-second presentation period.

Three widely used recall tasks are free recall, serial recall, and paired associate tasks. In free recall tasks, participants are to recall items in any order, much as you might recall the items on a grocery list. Serial recall tasks are more difficult; the items must be recalled in the order in which they were presented, as you would recall the digits in a telephone number. In paired associate tasks, participants are given a cue to help them recall the second item of a pair of items. In the learning phase of a study, the experimenter might pair the words tree and shoe. In the testing phase, participants would be presented with the word tree and would have to respond with the correct answer, shoe.

Recognition. In a multiple-choice test, as in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, you are asked to recognize relevant information. Psychologists have found that recognition tasks can help them measure subtle differences in memory ability better than recall tasks can. That's because although a person may be unable to recall the details of a previously learned fact, he or she may recognize them. Asked to name the capital of Maine, more people would succeed on Millionaire than on Weakest Link. The chance of answering correctly is better when presented with four names to choose from: Columbus, Annapolis, Helena, or Augusta (final answer: Augusta).

Relearning. No current game show uses relearning as a memory task—it wouldn't make a very exciting show. This technique assesses memory by measuring how long it takes to relearn material that a participant has learned previously. The rationale for this assessment is that rapid relearning indicates some residual memory. For example, let's say you receive a list of 12 words to memorize, and you work with them until you can recite them perfectly. You report back two days later and are asked to recall the list. Unless you have rehearsed the list during the 2-day interval, your performance will be far from perfect. However, you will quickly relearn the material, indicating that you have some memory of the items, even though you could not recall them.

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