Memory for remembered events: Effects of response mode and response-produced feedback

Abstract

This study explored the extent and accuracy of the subject's knowledge of his previous recall performance as a function of response mode and response-produced feedback. In a series of immediate free recall trials, different groups of subjects were required to respond orally, to write down their responses, or to respond in both oral and written modes. On half of the trials recall was under conditions designed to impair response-produced feedback. All subjects were then re-presented with the original items and asked to indicate those they had recalled earlier. Recognition of previously recalled items was most accurate following oral plus written recall, least accurate following oral recall. Impaired feedback led to poorer knowledge of previous recall in each response mode. These results support the conclusion that the nature of the memory trace following recall cannot be adequately described solely in terms of temporal updating and strengthening of the trace formed during presentation. The implications of this conclusion are discussed with particular reference to sampling-with-replacement models of retrieval.