What do we call mental reminders or prompts that assist in recollection later on?

Mental reminders or prompts that aid in recollection are known as retrieval cues. These cues can be any stimulus—whether it’s a word, image, or sound—that helps trigger a memory by providing a context that leads the individual back to the original information. For example, when you smell a particular scent that reminds you of a childhood experience, that scent acts as a retrieval cue, helping you access those memories.

Retrieval cues are crucial for enhancing the process of recalling information because they create connections or associations in your memory that lead to more successful recollection of stored information. In contrast, state-dependent cues refer to memories that are more easily retrieved when an individual is in the same state of consciousness during recall as when the memory was encoded. Mnemonic devices are specific techniques used to improve memory retention but are not general prompts for recollection. Interference cues relate to the phenomenon where some memories may hinder the recall of others, rather than assisting in it. Therefore, retrieval cues most accurately describe the concept of mental reminders that help in recalling information later on.