The generation effect: delineation of a phenomenon
Abstract
Five experiments are reported comparing memory for words that were generated by the subjects themselves with the same words when they were simply presented to be read. In all cases, performance in the generate condition was superior to that in the read condition. This held for measures of cued and uncued recognition, free and cued recall, and confidence ratings. The phenomenon persisted across variations in encoding rules, timed or self-paced presentation, presence or absence of test information, and between- or within-subjects designs. The effect was specific to the response items under recognition testing but not under cued recall. A number of potential ex-planatory principles are considered, and their difficulties enumerated. It is concluded that the generation effect is real and that it poses an interesting interpretative problem. This is an empirically oriented article whose purpose is to report a set of simple experiments that establish the existence of a robust and interesting phenomenon of memory. This phenomenon, called the gen-eration effect, is robust in that it manifests itself across a variety of testing proce-dures, encoding rules, and other situational changes. It is interesting in that it does not seem to be easily or satisfactorily accommo-dated by any of the currently familiar ex-planatory notions. We expect that once the phenomenon is described in its initial form, it will be the subject of wider experimental analysis and will eventually become better under…
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Generating an item in response to a cue improves later memory for that item compared with reading it, the generation effect.
“Generating items in response to a cue (e.g.,”
From The benefit of generating errors during learning (2014) · cites this paper as Slamecka & Graf, 1978
Another effect related to retrieval practice is the behaviorally well-defined "generation effect" in which active information production improves memory performance.
“Another effect related to retrieval practice is the behaviorally well-defined “generation effect” in which active information production improves memory performance (Slamecka and Graf, 1978).”
From Neural Correlates of Long-Term Memory Enhancement Following Retrieval Practice (2021) · cites this paper as Slamecka and Graf, 1978
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- Authors
- Slamecka, N. J., & Graf, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- ORCID
- Graf, Peter
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory
- Published
- 1978-11
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 592-604
- ISSN
- 0096-1515 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2004805246
- Cited by
- 1,659
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 39 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 71 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 50 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 74 · 2014: 47 · 2013: 45 · 2012: 64
- FWCI
- 5.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Learning & Memory (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- generation effect, word recognition, cued recall, free recall, confidence ratings, encoding rules
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