Decision and Memory: The Effect of Stopping Rules on Memory Use

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Recalling information from memory can be thought of as a search process. Thus, an important aspect of recall is deciding when to stop searching. This is true whether remembering things that are fairly mundane, such as recalling the titles of one's favorite books, to remembering things that are crucial, such as a physician generating potential diagnostic hypotheses. Although the importance of criteria for search termination is recognized in most contemporary models of memory and decision making, very little is known about the processes that underlie these decisions. The research conducted by Dr. Dougherty and colleagues tests the applicability of a cost-benefit framework for describing both memory search and search termination decisions. Within this framework, costs are incurred by the act of searching (which takes time and effort), and gains are realized through successful outcomes. The notion that search termination decisions flow from a system that regulates costs and benefits raises two broad questions. First, in what ways do the costs and benefits of retrieval influence both search termination decisions and the time course of retrieval? Second, what role does monitoring the search process (a form of "metacognition") play? The working hypothesis is that appropriate search termination decisions enable one to maximize the utility of any particular recall attempt and that metacognitive monitoring plays an important role in this process. Understanding the fundamental nature of search termination decisions has important implications for understanding the basic functioning of human memory and the role of memory in decision making. This is important for a variety of real-world contexts. For example, in time-critical triage situations, medical personnel must quickly retrieve potential diagnostic hypotheses from memory to render a treatment decision. Premature search termination may lead to an incorrect diagnosis whereas protracted search may compromise the care of other time-critical patients. This research may help improve information search efficiency and decision making quality.