The power of script knowledge and selective retrieval in the recall of daily activities

In this study we examined the effects of script knowledge and selective retrieval on the recall of daily activities. The participants studied daily activities typically performed over the course of a normal day from morning to bedtime, presented in chronological order or as a random list. Then half of the participants practiced retrieval for part of the activities. The use of the script improved recall in the ordered presentation. The facilitation effect caused by retrieval practice was greater in the random presentation, showing that retrieval is a powerful mnemonic enhancer, especially for nonorganized materials. Script-driven processing in the ordered presentation prevented inhibitory effects derived from selective retrieval practice, whereas retrieval-induced forgetting was observed in the random presentation, which lacked the temporal and causal structure of the script. The results show the power of the script to moderate inhibition and the effectiveness of retrieval practice in the recall of daily activities.