Abstract
The use of mental operations as recognition cues was investigated. Two experiments support the hypothesis that processing details are retained in memory and that a re-creation of those processing details can effectively cue recognition. Four subjects performed a mental arithmetic task that emphasized speed and accuracy while discouraging memorization of the numbers. Recognition was cued either by single numbers or by a pair of numbers that, when added, replicated an episode of the original task. Reprocessing an episode was the most effective recognition cue. Of the two single-number cues, the intermediate subtotals were recognized, whereas the numbers that had been physically displayed were not. The study suggests: (1) that the sequence of mental operations is retained in memory, (2) that reprocessing uses this trace to facilitate performance, and (3) that the detection of facilitated reprocessing aids recognition.
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Rosen, L. R.Memory traces of transient cognitive processes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, San Diego, 1975.
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The order of authors is alphabetical; their contributions were equal. The authors express their appreciation to Barbara Greenlee for experimental assistance and to Barbara Dosher and James McClelland for comments on an earlier draft. This research was partially supported by NIH Grant MH-24880 and by NIH Grant MH-15828 to the Center for Human Information Processing, University of California, San Diego.
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Russo, J.E., Wisher, R.A. Reprocessing as a recognition cue. Memory & Cognition 4, 683–689 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213235
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213235