Encoding specificity principle

The encoding specificity principle is a theory about human memory in cognitive psychology. The theory states that retrieval cues will be most effective if they contain features that overlap with the to-be-remembered memory trace, which in turn has features that are primarily determined by the specific conditions of its initial encoding. The concept was developed by the memory researcher Endel Tulving.

Tulving's theory of "encoding specificity" emphasizes the importance of retrieval cues in accessing episodic memories. The theory states that effective retrieval cues must overlap with the to-be-retrieved memory trace. Because the contents of the memory trace are primarily established during the initial encoding of the experience, retrieval cues will be maximally effective if they are similar to this encoded information. Tulving has dubbed the process through which a retrieval cue activates a stored memory "synergistic ecphory."

Initial evidence for the encoding specificity principle came from cued recall experiments using word lists. The principle also is supported by many related experimental phenomena (e.g., the recognition failure of recallable words, state-dependent learning, transfer-appropriate processing). More recently, Tulving has argued that the appropriate retrieval cues are necessary but not sufficient to retrieve episodic memories. One also must be in a "retrieval mode" or a remembering state of mind. Empirical evidence for this theory is not as strong as that for the encoding specificity.

One implication of the encoding specificity principle is that forgetting may be caused by the lack of appropriate retrieval cues, as opposed to decay of a memory trace over time or interference from other memories. Another implication is that there is more information stored in memory relative to what can be retrieved at any given point (i.e., availability vs. accessibility).

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1. Higham, Philip (2002). "Strong cues are not necessarily weak: Thomson and Tuvling (1970) and the encoding specificity principle revisited". Memory & cognition. 30 (1): 67.