Encoding processes for recall and recognition: The effect of instructions and auxiliary task performance

The present experiment investigated the hypothesis that encoding for recall involves organization of input stimuli, while recognition entails encoding to achieve discriminability of individual items. Subjects were given either recall or recognition instructions, one or three presentations of a list of nouns, and did or did not perform an auxiliary task of repeating the words aloud at input. All subjects received recall and recognition tests. The results showed higher recall with recall instructions in the no-task condition. Oral repetition produced a decrement in recall following recall instructions, but had no effect with recognition instructions. Also, the auxiliary task had no effect on recall with recognition instructions, but with recognition instructions recognition performance was increased to the level of recall subjects. The results are discussed in terms of current models of recall and recognition.