Retrieval Cues can be described as a type of stimuli used to summon information from our memory. There are many forms of retrieval cues such as location, a smell, or a song (Goldstein, 2015). An example of a song serving as a retrieval cue can be a Wedding song dedicated to a bride and groom. Hearing that song will likely bring back similar feelings, thoughts, and events that took place on that very day. This is a specific situation which happened to me and my family the other day.

Myself, my mom, and my stepdad were rooting around in the attic at an attempt to locate the Halloween decorations (procrastination- I know). We were listening to my playlist on shuffle when their Wedding song, One Man Band by Old Dominion, started playing. For perspective, we can think of the song as an assistant when it comes to retrieval of the memory. Specifically in this case, One Man Band acted as my retrieval cue for the memory of my moms wedding. The song had no significance to me before this memory. Now when I hear it I’m reminded of the day where we got dressed up to celebrate the union of my parents and the grand emotion I felt that day. I remember the emotion and the tears, the smiles and laughs. It wasn’t my wedding, but I was still in attendance and there are a list of reasons why the memory is special to me as well which is why the song made me think of the event.

Had we not heard the song, another example of a retrieval cue of the wedding could have been the smell of the sea salt on our shells and sand we brought back with us. We could have smelled them and been reminded about the salty air during the reception. In a few years we have a scheduled trip to revisit the same beach they got married on. This would be an example of returning to the location where the original memory was formed. Retrieval cues can be provided to us in a number of different formats and be extremely helpful in memory retrieval.