Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Retrieval245TOT experiences appear to be universal, and the “tongue” metaphor is used todescribe the experience in many cultures (Schwartz, 1999). On average, people haveabout one TOT experience per week. Although people of all ages experience suchword-finding memory glitches, TOT experiences tend to be more common amongolder adults than younger adults (Burke & Shafto, 2004; James & Burke, 2000).When experiencing this sort of retrieval failure, people can almost always dredgeup partial responses or related bits of information from their memory. About halfthe time, people can accurately identify the first letter of the target word and thenumber of syllables in it. They can also often produce words with similar meaningsor sounds. While momentarily frustrating, about 90 percent of TOT experiences areeventually resolved, often within a few minutes.Tip-of-the-tongue experiences illustrate that retrieving information is not an allor-nothingprocess. Often, we remember bits and pieces of what we want to remember.In many instances, information is stored in memory, but not accessible withoutthe right retrieval cues. TOT experiences also emphasize that information stored inmemory is organized and connected in relatively logical ways. As you mentallystruggle to retrieve the blocked information, logically connected bits of informationare frequently triggered. In many instances, these related tidbits of information actas additional retrieval cues, helping you access the desired memory.tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experienceA memory phenomenon that involves thesensation of knowing that specific informationis stored in long-term memory, butbeing temporarily unable to retrieve it.recallA test of long-term memory that involvesretrieving information without the aid ofretrieval cues; also called free recall.cued recallA test of long-term memory that involvesremembering an item of information inresponse to a retrieval cue.recognitionA test of long-term memory that involvesidentifying correct information out ofseveral possible choices.serial position effectThe tendency to remember items at thebeginning and end of a list better thanitems in the middle.Testing RetrievalRecall, Cued Recall, and RecognitionThe first part of the demonstration in Figure 6.7 illustrated the use of recall as astrategy to measure memory. Recall, also called free recall, involves producinginformation using no retrieval cues. This is the memory measure that’s used onessay tests. Other than the essay questions themselves, an essay test provides noadditional retrieval cues to help jog your memory.The second part of the demonstration used a different memory measurement,called cued recall. Cued recall involves remembering an item of information inresponse to a retrieval cue. Fill-in-the-blank and matching questions are examples ofcued-recall tests.A third memory measurement is recognition, which involves identifying the correctinformation from several possible choices. Multiple-choice tests involve recognitionas a measure of long-term memory. The multiple-choice question provides youwith one correct answer and several wrong answers. If you have stored the informationin your long-term memory, you should be able to recognize the correct answer.Cued-recall and recognition tests are clearly to the student’s advantage. Becausethese kinds of tests provide retrieval cues, the likelihood that you will be able to accessstored information is increased.A Demonstration of the Serial PositionEffect Without singing them, try to recitethe words of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”If you’re like most people, you’ll correctlyremember the words at the beginning andthe end of “The Star-Spangled Banner” buthave difficulty recalling the words andphrases in the middle—the essence of theserial position effect.The Serial Position EffectNotice that the first part of the demonstration in Figure 6.7 did not ask you to recallthe sentences in any particular order. Instead, the demonstration tested freerecall—you could recall the items in any order. Take another look at your answers toFigure 6.7(a). Do you notice any sort of pattern to the items that you did recall?Both your authors were least likely to recall items from the middle of the list.This pattern of responses is called the serial position effect, which refers to thetendency to retrieve information more easily from the beginning and the end of alist rather than from the middle. There are two parts to the serial position effect.The tendency to recall the first items in a list is called the primacy effect, and thetendency to recall the final items in a list is called the recency effect.The primacy effect is especially prominent when you have to engage in serial recall,that is, when you need to remember a list of items in their original order. Rememberingspeeches, telephone numbers, and directions are a few examples of serial recall.