The HED Task Catalog is under development. IDs are not stable until formal release. Comments are welcome at github.com/hed-standard/hed-task/issues.

Free Recall Task

HED task ID: hedtsk_free_recall

Family: Recall and recognition memory tests

Also known as: Recall Task

Study of a list of items followed by unaided recall in any order; serial-position curves dissociate primacy and recency.

Description

Participants study a list of items (typically words) presented sequentially, then attempt to recall all items in any order during an extended recall period. Performance is analyzed via serial position curves showing primacy effects (enhanced recall of early items, attributed to long-term memory consolidation) and recency effects (enhanced recall of recent items, attributed to short-term memory). Clustering analyses examine whether semantically or contextually related items are recalled together, revealing the organization of memory search. The task engages prefrontal, parietal, and temporal memory networks.

Inclusion test

An experiment is an instance of this task when its procedure matches, it manipulates at least one of the listed variables, and it records at least one of the listed measures.

Procedure

Participants study a list of items (words, pictures) presented one at a time, then recall as many as possible in any order after the last item.

Manipulation

List length; presentation rate; semantic organization; encoding task (deep vs. shallow); retention interval (immediate vs. delayed).

Measurement

Total items recalled; serial position curve (primacy, recency); temporal clustering; semantic clustering.

Variations

Named versions that change what the participant experiences or does. The identifier of a variation is hedvar_<task>__<variation>.

Variation

Description

Justification

Immediate Free Recall (IFR)

hedvar_free_recall__immediate_free_recall_ifr

Recall immediately after list presentation; shows primacy and recency.

Recall tested immediately after list; canonical free recall

Delayed Free Recall (DFR)

hedvar_free_recall__delayed_free_recall_dfr

Distractor-filled delay before recall; eliminates recency effect.

Filled delay before recall; tests long-term retention

Continual Distractor Free Recall (CDFR)

hedvar_free_recall__continual_distractor_free_recall_cdfr

Distractors between every item and after last item; dissociates short-term and long-term recency.

Distractors between each item and at end; eliminates recency via distractor

Final Free Recall

hedvar_free_recall__final_free_recall

Recall all items from all preceding lists; tests long-term retention.

Recall all lists at end of session; tests long-term retention and inter-list organization

Categorized Free Recall

hedvar_free_recall__categorized_free_recall

Lists contain items from semantic categories; reveals category clustering.

Semantically categorized lists; tests organizational clustering

Repeated Free Recall

hedvar_free_recall__repeated_free_recall

Same list recalled multiple times; shows hypermnesia (improvement across tests).

Same list recalled multiple times; tests learning across trials

Directed Forgetting in Free Recall

hedvar_free_recall__directed_forgetting_in_free_recall

Instructions to forget some items; reveals encoding and retrieval control.

Forget instructions after list learning; suppression measured in free recall

Externalized Free Recall

hedvar_free_recall__externalized_free_recall

Spoken recall recorded with precise timing for inter-response time analysis.

Participants report all retrievals including partial/uncertain; different response protocol

Cognitive processes

This task is designed to engage the following processes:

Key references

  • Polyn, S. M., Natu, V. S., Cohen, J. D., & Norman, K. A. (2005). Category-specific cortical activity precedes retrieval during memory search. Science, 310(5749), 1963-1966. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Sederberg, P. B., Gauthier, L. V., Terushkin, V., Miller, J. F., Barnathan, J. A., & Kahana, M. J. (2006). Oscillatory correlates of the primacy effect in episodic memory. NeuroImage, 32(3), 1422-1431. (DOI, PubMed)

Further references

  • Kahana, M. J. (2012). Foundations of Human Memory. Oxford University Press. [Updated: Kahana, M. J. (2020). Computational models of memory search. Annual Review of Psychology, 71, 107–138.]

  • Polyn, S. M., Norman, K. A., & Kahana, M. J. (2009). A context maintenance and retrieval model of organizational processes in free recall. Psychological Review, 116(1), 129–156. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Lohnas, L. J., Polyn, S. M., & Kahana, M. J. (2015). Expanding the scope of memory search: Modeling intralist and interlist effects in free recall. Psychological Review, 122(2), 337–363. (DOI, PubMed)

  • Morton, N. W., Sherrill, K. R., & Preston, A. R. (2017). Memory integration constructs maps of space, time, and concepts. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 17, 161–168. (DOI, PubMed)