Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
The 
inability to recall information that one 
realizes one knows—a result of the 
diffi culty of retrieving information 
from long-term memory.
recall
Memory task in which specifi c 
information must be retrieved.
recognition
Memory task in which 
individuals are presented with a 
stimulus and asked whether they have 
been exposed to it in the past or to 
identify it from a list of alternatives.
Key Concept 
What causes diffi
culties and 
failures in remembering?
M O D U L E 2 1
Recalling Long-Term Memories 
FIGURE 1 
Try to recall the names of these characters. Because this 
is a recall task, it is relatively diffi
cult.
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Module 21 
Recalling Long-Term Memories 
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because it consists of a series of processes: a search through memory, retrieval of poten-
tially relevant information, and then a decision regarding whether the information you 
have found is accurate. If the information appears to be correct, the search is over, but 
if it is not, the search must continue. In contrast, recognition is simpler because it 
involves fewer steps (Miserando, 1991; Leigh, Zinkhan, & Swaminathan, 2006). 
Levels of Processing
One determinant of how well memories are recalled is the way in which material is 
fi rst perceived, processed, and understood. The  levels-of-processing theory  empha-
sizes the degree to which new material is mentally analyzed. It suggests that the 
amount of information processing that occurs when material is initially encountered 
is central in determining how much of the information is ultimately remembered. 
According to this approach, the depth of information processing during exposure to 
material—meaning the degree to which it is analyzed and considered—is critical; the 
greater the intensity of its initial processing, the more likely we are to remember it 
(Craik, 1990; Troyer, Häfl iger, & Cadieux, 2006; Craik & Lockhart, 2008).
Because we do not pay close attention to much of the information to which we 
are exposed, very little mental processing typically takes place, and we forget new 
material almost immediately. However, information to which we pay greater atten-
tion is processed more thoroughly. Therefore, it enters memory at a deeper level—
and is less apt to be forgotten than is information processed at shallower levels. 
The theory goes on to suggest that there are considerable differences in the ways 
in which information is processed at various levels of memory. At shallow levels, 
information is processed merely in terms of its physical and sensory aspects. For 
example, we may pay attention only to the shapes that make up the letters in the 
word dog . At an intermediate level of processing, the shapes are translated into mean-
ingful units—in this case, letters of the alphabet. Those letters are considered in the 
context of words, and specifi c phonetic sounds may be attached to the letters. 
At the deepest level of processing, information is analyzed in terms of its mean-
ing. We may see it in a wider context and draw associations between the meaning 
of the information and broader networks of knowledge. For instance, we may think 
of dogs not merely as animals with four legs and a tail, but also in terms of their 
relationship to cats and other mammals. We may form an image of our own dog, 
thereby relating the concept to our own lives. According to the levels-of-processing 
approach, the deeper the initial level of processing of specifi c information, the longer 
the information will be retained. 
There are considerable practical implications to the notion that recall depends 
on the degree to which information is initially processed. For example, the depth of 
information processing is critical when learning and studying course material. Rote