Recall is the ability to retrieve information from memory without the aid of external cues. When you write an essay answer from scratch or recite a poem you learned years earlier, you are performing recall. The measure is stricter than recognition, which only requires identifying the correct item among options.

Psychologists distinguish free recall, in which items may be produced in any order, from serial recall, which demands the original sequence. Cued recall supplies a partial prompt—such as the first letter of a word—and falls between free recall and recognition in difficulty.

Performance on recall tests is influenced by encoding quality, retrieval practice, and interference from competing memories. The testing effect shows that repeated recall attempts themselves strengthen later retrieval. Failures of recall can stem from weak encoding, retrieval competition, or temporary inaccessibility rather than permanent loss.

• Unaided retrieval of stored information
• Free, serial, and cued varieties
• More demanding than recognition
• Strengthened by retrieval practice

Everyday examples include remembering a phone number long enough to dial it or reconstructing the plot of a novel read last month.