Cue encoding and recognition in facilitation of recall

Presented a 20-item list either with associated category cues (I-C) or without cues (I-I) to 29 undergraduates in each condition. Cued recall was greater in I-C despite lower preceding free recall, but cued recall in I-I was also greater than preceding free recall. Category cues were not reliably recognized unless the item was recalled, suggesting that information about category cues presented together with items may be encoded and retained as part of the information encoded about the to-be-cued item. Such cues may facilitate recall by providing direct access to the item. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).