GENERATION-RECOGNITION AS AN AUXILIARY RETRIEVAL STRATEGY

The hypothesis that free recall involves the generation of candidate items followed by a decision process was tested in a situation which compared a standard recall test with a test that involved the overt generation and recognition of candidate items. Generation-recognition is not a primary retrieval strategy but is a useful auxiliary strategy, particularly if employed shortly after the presentation of the target material. Subsequent recognition and repeated recall performance was shown to be a function of the accessibility (retrievability) and availability (generation) of items. Accessibility is a characteristic of specific memorial events and not the product of a retrieval process. © 1979 Academic Press, Inc.