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When retrieval cueing fails
Author(s) -
Watkins Michael J.,
Tulving Endel
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1978.tb02121.x
Subject(s) - psychology , recall , trace (psycholinguistics) , cued recall , engram , cognitive psychology , cued speech , event (particle physics) , free recall , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics
Does presenting a hint, or retrieval cue, for recall of an event change the memory trace for the event even when the cue does not in fact produce recall? An experiment by McLeod, Williams & Broadbent (1971) suggests that it may. A conclusion to this effect would have important theoretical implications. In particular, it would pose difficulties for specifying trace structure. McLeod et al. observed that a retrieval cue was more effective if its target trace had been previously cued, even though this cueing did not elicit recall. Three experiments are described which indicate that this result occurs only if the first, ineffectual cue is presented along with the second cue; if the second cue is presented alone it is less effective than the first. It is concluded that there is currently no evidence that the unsuccessful cueing of an item causes a change in its memory trace.