Transferappropriate

Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP) is a theory in cognitive psychology that emphasizes the match between the cognitive processes used at encoding and those required at retrieval. Proposed by Morris, Bransford, and Franks in 1977, it argues that memory performance depends not only on how information is encoded but also on how well the encoding operations align with the demands of the retrieval task.

The core claim is that memory will be best when the processing engaged during encoding closely resembles the processing demanded by the test or recall situation. For example, information encoded through phonological processing may be better retrieved with a phonological recognition task, whereas semantic or meaning-based encoding benefits tasks that rely on semantic processing. This alignment can produce large retrieval advantages even when other encoding strategies are effective in general.

TAP is related to, but distinct from, encoding specificity and the levels-of-processing framework. Encoding specificity emphasizes overlap between the memory trace and the retrieval environment, while TAP focuses on the cognitive operations themselves. Critics note that TAP does not always specify the underlying mechanisms and that deep processing can still enhance performance in tasks that demand semantic processing. The theory is widely used to interpret variability in memory performance across different tasks and to guide the design of educational assessments and memory interventions where task demands vary.

Overall, transfer-appropriate processing provides a framework for predicting when certain encoding strategies will improve retrieval by aligning them with the cognitive requirements of the test or recall context.