Recognition failure of recallable words

The recognition failure of recallable words is an experimental phenomenon in cognitive psychology originally discovered by the memory researcher Endel Tulving and colleagues. It is usually easier to remember previously studied words if memory is tested using a recognition memory test, in which the words are re-presented for a memory judgment, as opposed to a recall test, in which the words are not re-presented but must instead be mentally generated from memory.

Tulving showed that this typical finding could be reversed by manipulating the retrieval cues provided at test. For example, many people will fail to recognize the word "Cooper" if asked "Do you know a famous author named Cooper?". However, they will easily recall the author if given the appropriate retrieval cue "What is the author with first name James Fenimore?" Although this is an example of recognition failure of recallable words in semantic memory, Tulving also demonstrated this phenomenon in episodic memory.