Retrieval

Question 1

The three Rs of retrieval, 3 different ways

Answer 1

Recall
Recognition
Relearning

Question 2

Recall

Answer 2

Recall requires the person to retrieve stored information using a minimal amount of cues. There are three main types of recall: free, serial, cued.

Question 3

Free recall

Answer 3

Free recall is involved in a task in which the participants are required to retrieve as much information as they can in any order (for example, a list of items to purchase from the supermarket).

Question 4

Serial recall

Answer 4

Serial recall involves recalling information in the order in which it was presented (for example, the names of cities visited on an overseas journey).

Question 5

Cued recall

Answer 5

Cued recall uses various prompts (cues) to assist the retrieval process (for example, ‘The surname is short and begins with a D’)

Question 6

Recognition

Answer 6

Recognition refers to identifying the correct information among a list of incorrect pieces of information; for example, being able to pick the correct answer to a multiple-choice question from a list of four alternatives. Recognition is generally more accurate than recall because it provides more cues to assist retrieval.

Question 7

Recognition vs cued recall

Answer 7

Recognition and cued recall are sometimes confused and it is
important to distinguish between the two. Think of the example of remembering the names of students in your Year 7 English class.
Recognition would involve you being given a list of names that included those who were in the class with many other names. Cued
recall would involve you being given clues to the information but not the evidence of the items to be remembered, such as a class photograph or the initials of the class members.

Question 8

Relearning

Answer 8

Relearning, which refers to learning again something that has previously been committed to memory, is easier than learning something for the first time. This is the case with all aspects of memory but is especially true of procedural memory. Have you ever returned to a previously learnt skill, like a sport or playing a musical instrument, after a period of time and picked it up really quickly? This is the savings e ect of relearning. Many people find the same with speaking a foreign language.

Question 9

Sensitivity of retrieval

Answer 9

A more sensitive measure will register that a memory is present even if only a small amount of the memory remains. A less sensitive measure will only register that a memory is present when a large proportion of it remains.

Question 10

Most sensitive to least sensitive retrieval

Answer 10

MOST 
Relearning 
Recognition
Cued recall
Serial recall
Free recall
LEAST SENSITIVE