title: Using what we know: Consequences of intentionally retrieving gist versus item-specific information.
abstract: The effect of a prior gist-based versus item-specific retrieval orientation on recognition of objects and words was examined. Prior item-specific retrieval increased item-specific recognition of episodically related but not previously tested objects relative to both conceptual- and perceptual-gist retrieval. An item-specific retrieval advantage also was found when the stimuli were words (synonyms) rather than objects but not when participants overtly named objects during gist-based recognition testing, which suggests that they did not always label objects under general gist-retrieval instructions. Unlike verbal overshadowing, labeling objects during recognition attenuated (but did not eliminate) test- and interference-related forgetting. A full understanding of how retrieval affects subsequent memory, even for events or facts that are not themselves retrieved, must take into account the specificity with which that retrieval occurs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. kouts003@umn.edu
authors.forename: Wilma
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Koutstaal
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavendish
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011939:Mental Recall; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011340:Problem Solving; D013850:Thinking; D014706:Verbal Learning