Hard to recall but easy to judge: retrieval strategies in social information processing

Abstract

The present research distinguishes two different retrieval modes: exhaustive and heuristic retrieval. Whereas exhaustive retrieval is elemental and retrieves specific memory traces, the output of heuristic retrieval is a memory composite. Different memory tasks depend upon these two retrieval modes in various degrees. Using a part-list cueing paradigm, we found a dissociation: providing part-list cues hindered the retrieval of the non-cued behaviors in free recall but boosted frequency estimates. In a second study, using a collaborative recall paradigm, each of three participants recalled one of the previously presented behaviors in turn. We hypothesized that behaviors recalled by other participants would become hyper-accessible, inhibiting the retrieval of non-recalled behaviors but boosting the corresponding frequency estimates relative to non-collaborative recall conditions. The results supported the hypotheses. The parallelism of the results of the two studies suggests that retrieval interference or inhibition is a crucial feature of social memory.