A Procedural Explanation of the Generation Effect: The Use of an Operand Retrieval Strategy for Multiplication and Addition Problems

Three experiments investigated the generation effect for the recall of the answers to arithmetic problems. in Experiment 1, a generation effect was found for subjects given simple multiplication problems but not for those given addition problems. Using a within-subjects design, Experiment 2 demonstrated that a generation effect did occur for addition problems when the subjects were also given multiplication problems. A generation effect for addition problems was also found in Experiment 3 when subjects were instructed at the time of the retention test to use an operand retrieval strategy (i.e., recalling the operands to help retrieve the answer to the problem). These experiments collectively demonstrated a generation effect for the answers to arithmetic problems only when subjects reinstated at test the cognitive procedures used at study, thus providing further evidence in favor of a procedural account of the generation effect.