Cited by 517Memory Processes and InfluencesNeurobiology of Language and BilingualismReading and Literacy Development

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A review of the tip-of-the-tongue experience

Brown, Alan S.·1991·Psychological Bulletin

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Abstract

The tip-of-the-tongue experience (TOT) has intrigued psychologists for nearly a century. R. Brown and McNeil (1966) provided the first systematic exploration of the phenomenon, and the findings since their seminal study suggest that TOTs (a) are a nearly universal experience, (b) occur about once a week, (c) increase with age, (d) are frequently elicited by proper names, (e) often enable access to the target word's first letter, (f) are often accompanied by words related to the target, and (g) are resolved during the experience about half of the time. Important questions remain concerning TOTs: (a) Are emotional reactions necessary, (b) do only low frequency targets elicit TOTs, (c) do TOTs reflect incomplete target word activation or interference from related words, and (d) do spontaneous retrievals really occur? A more precise definition of the TOT experience is needed, as well as greater uniformity in the information gathered during TOTs.

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Background
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Influential
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Background
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Background
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“While previous reviews have summarized the phenomenology and cognitive accounts of the TOT phenomenon [1,18], the present review advances the literature by explicitly integrating (i) cognitive models of TOT, (ii) converging multimodal neuroimaging evidence on the implicated language and control…”
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“As studies have shown (Brown, 1991), people being in this state always know something concerning the target word, but what is known varies considerably: the meaning, form (syllables: beginning or end), origin, related words, etc.”
Background
Effects of inhibition on naming in aging
Neumann, Y., Vogel-Eyny, A., Cahana-Amitay, D., Spiro, A., Hyun, J., Albert, M. L., & Obler, L. K. (2018) · Letras de Hoje · doi:10.15448/1984-7726.2018.1.28654 · Cited by 3
Word recall process and physiological activation in the tip-of-the-tongue state: Comparison of young and middle-aged groups
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Does This Ring a Bell? Music-cued Retrieval of Semantic Knowledge and Metamemory Judgments
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“During a TOT state, people are unable to retrieve a specific bit of information, but at the same time they experience an intense subjective feeling that they know the item and are on the verge of recovering it (for a review, see Brown, 1991).”
BackgroundResult
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“The resolution may be through external search strategies (such as looking up the word in a dictionary or by asking someone) or through internal strategies (such as searching in the alphabet or generating similar words) (cf. Brown 1991).”
Background
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Rodríguez‐Fornells, A., León-Cabrera, P., Gabarrós, A., & Sierpowska, J. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-75071-8_23 · Cited by 3
Romanian Lexical Resources Interconnection
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“In psychology, one instance of this condition is represented by the so-called “ tip-of-the-tongue” phenomenon (see [17] and [18]).”
Background
Further Insight into Cognitive and Metacognitive Processes of the Tip-of-the-Tongue State with an Amnesic Drug as Cognitive Tool
Bacon, É. (2010) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-6546-2_5 · Cited by 2
“, 2002), we predicted that the general cognitive process of memory search is slowed down by the drug and, therefore, that the participants under lorazepam should manifest more commission TOT states than placebo participants (Brown, 1991).”
BackgroundInfluential
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Brain dynamics associated with face-naming and the tip-of-the-tongue state.
Galdo‐Álvarez, S., Lindı́n, M., & Díaz, F. (2011) · PubMed · Cited by 2
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Hanlon, S. T. (2019) · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · doi:10.17615/4e37-wq21 · Cited by 2
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Koriat, A., & Nussinson, R. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139547383.015 · Cited by 2
“In a somewhat related phenomenon – the slip of the pen (SOP, see Brown, 1991 ) – participants inadvertently substitute the intended word with another word in written word production.”
Background
Audience Design in the Generation of References to Famous People
Kutlák, R., van Deemter, K., & Mellish, C. S. (2011) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 2
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하지완, & 심현섭 (2011) · Eon'eo cheong'gag jang'ae yeon'gu/Communication sciences & disorders · Cited by 2
Phonological Interlopers Tend to Repeat When Tip-of-the-Tongue States Repeat
Oliver, L. K., & Humphreys, K. R. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00341 · Cited by 2
“Interlopers A notable feature of TOT states is that speakers can often recall features of words that are on the tip-of-the-tongue (e.g., Brown and McNeill, 1966; Brown, 1991; Meyer and Bock, 1992; Schwartz and Metcalfe, 2011).”
Background
Aktywność umysłu w procesach wydobywania informacji pamięciowych
Hankala, A. (2009) · Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego eBooks · doi:10.31338/uw.9788323517238 · Cited by 2

Authors: Brown, A. S.
Affiliations: Southern Methodist University (US)
Corresponding author: Brown, Alan S.
Venue: Psychological Bulletin
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1991
Volume: 109
Issue: 2
Pages: 204-223
ISSN: 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
1939-1455
DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.204
OpenAlex: W2130943935
Cited by: 517
References: 85
Citations by year: 2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 23
FWCI: 4.68
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
Keywords: tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, word retrieval, lexical access, proper names, word frequency, related words, emotional responses, spontaneous retrieval, word activation
MeSH terms: Adult, Aged, Aging, Arousal, Attention, Awareness, Child, Humans, Mental Recall, Retention, Psychology, Semantics, Verbal Learning

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A review of the tip-of-the-tongue experience

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