Retrieval enhances subsequent memory more than restudy (i.e., the testing effect), demonstrating the encoding (or reencoding) effects of retrieval. It is important to delineate the nature of the encoding effects of retrieval especially in comparison to traditional encoding processes. The current study examined if the level of retrieval, analogous…

The testing effect is 1 of several memory effects moderated by experimental design, such that the effect on free recall is larger in a mixed-list than pure-list design (Mulligan, Susser, & Smith, 2016). The current experiments assess hypotheses regarding why this pattern is found. Three extant accounts of design effects (Nguyen & McDaniel,…

Presenting information in a perceptually disfluent format sometimes enhances memory. Recent work examining 1 type of perceptual disfluency manipulation, Sans Forgetica typeface, has yielded discrepant findings; some studies find support for the idea that the disfluent typeface improves memory whereas others do not. The current study examined a…

Although memory retrieval often enhances subsequent memory, Peterson and Mulligan (2013) reported conditions under which retrieval produces poorer subsequent recall--the negative testing effect. The item-specific--relational account proposes that the effect occurs when retrieval disrupts interitem organizational processing relative to the restudy…

Bilingual infants from 6- to 24-months of age are more likely to generalize, flexibly reproducing actions on novel objects significantly more often than age-matched monolingual infants are. In the current study, we examine whether the addition of novel verbal labels enhances memory generalization in a perceptually complex imitation task. We…

Though retrieving information typically results in improved memory on a subsequent test (the testing effect), Peterson and Mulligan (2013) outlined the conditions under which retrieval practice results in poorer recall relative to restudy, a phenomenon dubbed the "negative testing effect." The item-specific-relational account proposes…

We examined whether 2 types of interpolated tasks (i.e., retrieval-practice via free recall or guessing a missing critical item) improved final recognition for related and unrelated word lists relative to restudying or completing a filler task. Both retrieval-practice and guessing tasks improved correct recognition relative to restudy and filler…

The representation of item and associative information in episodic memory was investigated using cued recall and single item recognition. In the first four experiments, participants studied two lists constructed such that some items presented in a pair during List 1 were rearranged to create new pairs in List 2 and were accompanied by pairs…

This article describes 5 experiments investigating the role of prior knowledge in incidental category learning. Experiments 1 to 3 showed that prior knowledge improved learning only if the categories in a given set were related to contrasting themes; there was no consistent knowledge effect if the categories were related to the same theme.…

In 2 main experiments, the mediated priming effect was used to determine whether retrieval continues to be mediated after repeated testing. In each experiment, participants used the keyword method to learn French vocabulary, then completed a modified lexical decision task in which they first translated a French word, and then made a lexical…

One of the foundational principles of human memory is that repetition (i.e., being presented with a stimulus multiple times) improves recall. In the current study a group of participants who studied a list of cue-target pairs twice recalled fewer targets than a group who studied the pairs only once, a negative repetition effect. Such a…

We begin with a theoretical overview of the concepts of recollection and familiarity, focusing, in the spirit of this special issue, on the important contributions made by Andrew Mayes. In particular, we discuss the issue of when the generation of semantically-related information in response to a retrieval cue might be experienced as recollection…

Across 3 experiments, we investigated the factors that dictate when taking a test improves subsequent memory performance (the "testing effect"). In Experiment 1, participants retrieving a set of targets during a retrieval practice phase ultimately recalled fewer of those targets compared with a group of participants who studied the…

Previous research has proposed that tests enhance retention more than do restudy opportunities because they promote the effectiveness of mediating information--that is, a word or concept that links a cue to a target (Pyc & Rawson, 2010). Although testing has been shown to promote retention of mediating information that participants were asked…

Testing typically enhances subsequent recall of tested material. In contrast, it has been proposed that consolidated memories can be destabilized when reactivated and then need to be reconsolidated in order to persist. Learning new material immediately after reactivation may disrupt reconsolidation. We investigated whether the well-known benefits…