Does retrieval enhance subsequent encoding through organizational processing?

The Potentiating Effect is the finding that recall is higher following a study trial that was preceded by multiple test trials versus a single test. The repeated test trials are claimed to enhance encoding on the subsequent study trial. In this paper, I examine the role of organizational processing during free recall as a mechanism for producing the enhancements to encoding in the Potentiating Effect. I propose the “Retrieval Enhanced Encoding Hypothesis”, which states that free recall tests improve subsequent encoding through organizational processing. Two experiments were conducted to test this hypothesis, and generally explore the influence of organizational processing during retrieval on acquisition and retention during restudy trials. In Experiment 1, subjects studied a categorized list of words and engaged in one, three, or five sequential recall tests before restudying the list again and taking one last test. The Potentiating Effect was replicated, subjects in the repeated test conditions recalled more words following the restudy period than did subjects in the single test condition. This difference in recall was caused by both decreases in forgetting and increases in acquisition. Recall organizational on each test trial was measured using ARC scores. Across the sequential recall tests, subjects’ recall organization increased. Subjects that engaged in repeated tests also tended to acquire more items and forget fewer items across the restudy. Recall organization was associated with these measures, implicating organization as a possible mechanism for these test based effects. Experiment 2 was designed to directly manipulate overall levels of recall organization. A nearly identical procedure used in Experiment 1 was used in Experiment 2. However, subjects studied an ad hoc categorized list, which is perceived by subjects as being uncategorized. Overall levels of recall organization were manipulated by presenting the list in either an organized or unorganized order. The Potentiating Effect was replicated for both types of list organization. However, the differences in words acquired and forgotten between the repeated test and single test conditions were not as large as in Experiment 1. In general, recall organization was much higher for subjects who studied the organized list on compared to subjects who studied the randomly organized list. Subjects with high recall organization acquired more new words on study trials than subjects with low recall organization