Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon is a cognitive experience characterized by a temporary inability to retrieve specific information from memory despite having a strong feeling of knowing the information. Although individuals cannot access the target word or detail, they frequently recall related elements, such as its initial letter, syllable count, or context. This partial retrieval often causes frustration, as one might recognize a familiar face or know that a name starts with a specific...

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices are cognitive tools that facilitate memory retention by linking new information to familiar patterns or organizational strategies. These techniques are beneficial for remembering complex or lengthy sets of information by simplifying and structuring them in easily retrievable ways.
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,...

Serial Position Effect

Serial Position Effect

The serial position effect is a cognitive phenomenon where individuals are more likely to recall the first and last items in a list compared to those in the middle. This effect is divided into the primacy effect and the recency effect. The primacy effect is observed when the initial items in a list are remembered better. This occurs because these items are rehearsed more frequently or receive more elaborative processing, allowing them to be encoded into long-term memory more effectively. For...

Retrieval

Retrieval

Retrieval is the process of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness. This ability is essential for daily tasks like brushing hair and teeth, driving to work, and performing job duties. Retrieval occurs in three ways: recall, recognition, and relearning.
Recall involves accessing information without cues, such as during an essay test, where individuals must retrieve facts and concepts from memory unaided. Another example is remembering the name of a colleague...

Interference and Decay

Interference and Decay

Forgetting is a complex cognitive phenomenon influenced by several factors, among which interference and decay are particularly prominent. These processes explain why individuals often struggle to retrieve specific information from memory, leading to lapses in recall that can be observed in everyday situations.
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness memory refers to the recollection of events by someone who has directly witnessed them, often serving as critical evidence in legal settings. This type of memory is commonly used in criminal cases where a witness describes details like a suspect's appearance, clothing, or behavior during a crime. However, despite its perceived reliability, eyewitness memory is prone to significant errors.
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Strategic learning of people's names as a function of expected utility in young and older adults.

Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition·2024

Same author

Strategies to resolve recall failures for proper names: New data.

Memory & cognition·2020

Same author

Belief in memories may be relinquished as often for adulthood as for childhood events, but for different reasons.

Memory (Hove, England)·2018

Same author

Person Perception from Face and Voice.

Psychologica Belgica·2018

Same author

The cognitive psychology and neuroscience of naming people.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2017

Same author

Mirror efficiency in the assessment of visual pursuit in patients in minimally conscious state.

Brain injury·2017

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 22, 2025

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

Which Information Helps Resolve Recall Failures for Familiar People's Names?

Serge Brédart¹

¹Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Belgium1.

Advances in Cognitive Psychology

|May 5, 2020

Summary

Recalling personal names is challenging. While people spontaneously use semantic cues, experimental studies show phonological information is more effective for name recall retrieval.

Keywords:

name retrieval person naming priming proper names tip-of-the-tongue

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Published on: November 14, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 22, 2025

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott DRM Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception

Published on: August 9, 2024

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Published on: November 14, 2018

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience of Memory

Background:

Personal name recall failures are common.
Existing research reviews spontaneous and experimental strategies for name retrieval.

Purpose of the Study:

To review strategies for resolving personal name recall failures.
To explain the discrepancy between spontaneous and experimental findings.

Main Methods:

Review of studies on spontaneous name recall strategies.
Analysis of experimental studies (cueing, priming) on name recall failure resolution.

Main Results:

Spontaneous strategies often involve semantic and contextual information.
Experimental studies show phonological cues are effective, while semantic/structural cues are not.
Syntactical similarity influences phonological priming effectiveness.

Conclusions:

Phonological information is key for experimental name recall resolution.
Spontaneous reliance on semantic/contextual information may be less efficient than perceived.
Understanding retrieval mechanisms can improve memory recall strategies.