title: Reprocessing as a recognition cue.
abstract: The use of mental operations as recognition cues was investigated. Two experiments support the hypothesis that processing details are retained in memory and that a re-creation of those processing details can effectively cue recognition. Four subjects performed a mental arithmetic task that emphasized speed and accuracy while discouraging memorization of the numbers. Recognition was cued either by single numbers or by a pair of numbers that, when added, replicated an episode of the original task. Reprocessing an episode was the most effective recognition cue. Of the two single-number cues, the intermediate subtotals were recognized, whereas the numbers that had been physically displayed were not. The study suggests: (1) that the sequence of mental operations is retained in memory, (2) that reprocessing uses this trace to facilitate performance, and (3) that the detection of facilitated reprocessing aids recognition.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie-Mellon University, 15213, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Wisher