Theories of autobiographical memory emphasise effortful, generative search processes in
memory retrieval. However recent research suggests that memories are often retrieved
directly, without effortful search. We investigated whether direct and generative retrieval
differed in the characteristics of memories recalled, or only in terms of retrieval latency.
Participants recalled autobiographical memories in response to cue words. For each
memory, they reported whether it was retrieved directly or generatively, rated its visuo …