Traveling economically through memory space: characterizing output order in memory for serial order
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Gradient Echo Quantum Memory in Warm Atomic Vapor
Published on: November 11, 2013
Stephan Lewandowsky1, Gordon D A Brown, Jacqueline L Thomas
1University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia. lewan@psy.uwa.edu.au
Abstract:
How do people report the contents of short-term memory when information about order must be retained but items can be retrieved in any order? We report an experiment using an unconstrained reconstruction task in which people can report list items in any order but must place them in their correct serial positions. We found (1) a tendency to report recent items first in immediate but not in delayed reconstruction, (2) a tendency to recall temporally isolated items first, (3) a preference for forward recall order, and (4) a preference for output orders that minimize the length of the path that must be traversed through memory space during retrieval. The results constrain most current models of short-term memory in which retrieval is ballistic and is assumed to run to completion autonomously once initiated.
Related Concept Videos
Understanding Memory
System of Memory
Serial Position Effect
Storage
Mnemonic Devices
Acronyms
Acronyms are created by using the initial letters of a series of words to form a new word or phrase. This approach condenses complex information into a single, memorable entity. For example,...
Chunking and Rehearsal in Sensory Memory

