Testing the predictions of a distinctiveness model of memory: The production effect in backward recall.

to retrieval and do not depend on how recall is initiated, the revised feature model predicts that the interaction between production and serial position should appear regardless of whether recall proceeds forward (from first to last) or backward (from last to first). That is, changing the output order should not undo encoding-based differences that have already shaped the memory traces. In six experiments, we tested this a priori prediction by manipulating recall direction in immediate serial recall. Consistent with expectations, the interactions associated with the production effect were observed in both forward and backward recall, despite the substantial performance differences typically observed between the two tasks. These findings are consistent with the encoding-based predictions of the revised feature model, and the model provides a principled account of the patterns observed across the experiments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).