Home > Encyclopedia of Psychology > Free-Recall Learning

The presentation of material to the learner with the subsequent task of recalling as much as possible about the material without any cues.

A typical experiment involving the use of words as stimuli may include unrelated or related words, single or multiple presentations of the words, and single or multiple tests involving memory. In a free-recall test, the learner organizes the information by memory, and the process of recall often reveals the mental processes that the learner uses. For example, words positioned at the beginning and the end of a list are most likely to be remembered, a phenomenon called the serial position effect. Further, any unusual stimuli have a greater chance of being recalled, a phenomenon called the von Restorff effect.

Learners tend to organize related material in ways that enhance recall. One process,...