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Updated: Jul 17, 2026
06:35
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Evidence for time-based models of free recall
Gordon D A Brown1, Caroline Morin, Stephan Lewandowsky
1Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, England. g.d.a.brown@warwick.ac.uk
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|January 5, 2007
Summary
Memory recall improves for items presented with greater temporal gaps. This suggests memory is organized temporally, with distinct items being easier to remember.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Memory Research
Background:
- Temporal distinctiveness models propose that memory is organized along a temporal dimension.
- These models predict that temporally isolated items are recalled better than temporally crowded items.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test temporal distinctiveness models of memory.
- To investigate how temporal isolation influences free recall performance.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted using a free recall task.
- Item temporal isolation was manipulated predictably (Experiment 1) and unpredictably (Experiment 2).
Main Results:
- Recall probability for items increased with larger temporal gaps preceding and following them.
- This effect was observed in both predictable and unpredictable temporal isolation conditions.
Conclusions:
- The findings support temporal distinctiveness models of memory.
- Memory representation and recall are influenced by an item's position in time.
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