Frequency Effects in Recognition and Recall

Abstract

Stimulus frequency, which is often evaluated using normative word frequency, is among the variables that have the most diverse and puzzling effects on memory. Word frequency can either facilitate or impair memory performance, depending on the study and testing conditions. Understanding why and under what conditions frequency has positive or negative effects on performance is crucial for understanding basic properties about the human memory system. As a result, the study of word frequency has led to the development of multiple memory models. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge concerning word frequency effects on item recognition, associative recognition, free recall, cued recall, serial recall, and source memory. It also discusses how word frequency interacts with manipulations concerning presentation rate, list composition, age of the participants, memory load, midazolam injections, response deadlines, and remember–know judgments. Four major classes of empirical findings are identified that can be further subdivided into a total of 21 key phenomena that any theory should account for. Based on these phenomena, the chapter identifies three high-level principles that characterize the diverse effects of frequency on memory: the probe dependency principle, the dual-process principle, and the resource demands principle.