recognition

Meaning: Recognition is a form of retrieval in which an item is shown and you judge whether it matches something stored in memory. Because the item itself acts as a cue, you do not have to generate the answer. Recall is the contrasting form: free recall (list everything you can), cued recall (given a hint), or serial recall (in order). Relearning, the savings in time when you study material a second time, is a third way to measure memory. In perception, object or pattern recognition uses the same matching idea, comparing a stimulus with stored knowledge.

On the MCAT: A passage describes participants who study a word list and are later tested by free recall, cued recall, or recognition. You predict that recognition scores will usually be highest, free recall lowest, and cued recall in between. You may also be asked to classify tasks: multiple choice, identifying a suspect in a lineup, and feeling that a face is familiar are recognition; essay and fill-in-the-blank questions are recall.

Common confusion: Students treat recognition and recall as the same thing, or assume that recognizing something proves it is stored accurately. Recognition depends on familiarity, so a similar lure can be wrongly accepted as seen before (a false recognition). The tip-of-the-tongue state shows the gap: you cannot recall a name, yet you would recognize it immediately if you saw it.