A recall test is frequently used in cognitive psychology as a means of measuring memory. Clinicians frequently use a reference retrieval test, a free retrieval test, or a serial retrieval test to assess various aspects of short-term memory - a person's ability to retrieve recently learned information. Through years of developing and using such tests, scientists have a better understanding of how the brain learns, stores, and retrieves information.
Cued recall, also known as stimulus / response, involves memorizing a sequence of information, using any desired method. After 15 to 30 minutes, the researchers ask the subjects to recall a specific bit of information or all of the information in the correct order, once they are given a specific recovery clue. The track could be reporting the middle of a paired sequence, or a picture, word, or track associated with a particular piece of information. This type of memory test not only shows how the brain uses association to encode memories, but also how it makes logical inferences when the clue is based on a general interpretation of the information.
Free retrieval is a memory test in which subjects are asked to memorize a short sequence of pictures, numbers, or words for a specified period of time. After another predetermined period of time, the subjects transmit the information in any sequence. This retrieval test reveals how people use particular types of coding to memorize groups of information. People can group similar data or recall information using mnemonic methods. The researchers also learned that people generally remember the beginning and end of sequences more easily, known as primary and recent memory.
Serial recall generally assesses a person's ability to recall information in a precise order or to recall circumstances as they occurred within a time frame. Researchers believe that this type of learning and memory reflects the human ability to create and use language along with the ability to recall past events in chronological order. Populations of any culture learn the sequences of words that make up the structure of sentences, providing a means of communication. Remembering life events or the particular steps required to accomplish a task generally requires serial learning and memory.
Researchers in cognitive psychology use recall tests to show how many factors affect learning and memory. For example, the more attention a person pays to the coding or memorizing process of learning new information, the greater the amount of information learned and accurately remembered. Motivation is also a strong learning and memory factor. Whether it's a tangible reward or a general fear of defeat, people who use some form of self-motivation generally produce a higher level of performance. The researchers also found that using the same environment or state of being to remember information that was initially used to learn the information generally allows people to retrieve information more effectively.