Autobiographical Episodes as Mediators in the Recall of Words

Three experiments are reported using life episodes as mediators for the recall of high-imagery words. In Experiment 1, subjects gave life episodes in response to word cues, then, 10 min or 3 weeks later, were given cues to their episodes from which they were to attempt to retrieve the episodes and the original cue words. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except that all episodes generated by subjects during Session 1 were given to subjects during the retrieval session to be used as cues for retrieving the original cue words. In Experiment 3, subjects had to generate both the episode and the target word during retrieval. These results were then compared with a group using the method of loci. In Experiment 4, the 3-week retention of a group of episodes generated in response to words was studied with no direct cuing involved. The results showed that (a) life episodes are superior to images of locations as mediators when episode or location cues are given at retrieval, (b) most life episodes given in response to words are forgotten after 3 weeks, (c) no components of life episodes that would predict target word recall were found, and (d) many more order errors occurred in the recall of a group of unrelated episodes compared with a group of unrelated words. More specific effects of the results were discussed within a five-phase encoding-retrieval model appropriate for mnemonic systems in general and life episode mediators in particular.