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1
IntroductiontoIntrospectiveMethods
Stimulatedrecallisonesubsetofarangeofintrospectivemethodsthatrepresentameansofelicitingdataaboutthoughtprocessesinvolvedincarryingoutataskor
activity.Theassumptionunderlyingintrospectionisthatitispossibletoobserveinternalprocessesinmuchthesamewayasonecanobserveexternalrealworld
events.Anotherassumptionisthathumanshaveaccesstotheirinternalthoughtprocessesatsomelevelandcanverbalizethoseprocesses.Thisbooktreatsthese
issuesbyfirstprovidingsomebackgroundinformation,includingahistoryofintrospectionanditsplacewithinthefieldsofphilosophy,psychology,andlinguistics
(chap.1).Themainfocusofthebook,however,isthespecificuseofstimulatedrecallwithinsecondlanguage(L2)studies.WedetailthewaysthatL2researchers
haveusedstimulatedrecall(chap.2)and,importantly,weprovideinformationonthedo'sanddonot'sofconductingstimulatedrecall(chaps.3and4).Inorderto
providereadersofthisbookwithabalancedviewoftheinformationthatstimulatedrecallcanprovidetoresearchers,wepresentthelimitationsofstimulatedrecall
(chap.5).Wealsodescribestudieswhereafollowuprecallproceduremighthaveprovidedresearcherswithdesirableinformation,informationthatwasimportant
butnotdiscerniblefromtheoriginaldataalone(chap.5).
Background
Thegoalofsecondlanguageacquisition(SLA)researchistodetermine:(1)theknowledgethatlearnershaveofthesecondlanguage(L2),and(2)thesourceofthat
knowledge.AmajorsourceofinformationaboutL2knowledgeisproductiondata,thatis,utterancesproducedby

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learners.Infact,intheearlyyearsofthesystematicstudyofSLA,Selinker(1972:213214)statedthatresearchersshould''focus...analyticalattentionuponthe
onlyobservabledatatowhichwecanrelatetheoreticalpredictions:theutteranceswhichareproducedwhenthelearnerattemptstosaysentencesofaTL."
Whilethisviewisstillmaintainedbysome,ithasneverbeenentirelyaccepted.Corder(1973),forexample,arguedthatforcedelicitationdatawerenecessary.In
otherwords,spontaneouslyproducedutterancesprovideonlyapartofthepicture.Ifonewantstoobtaininformationaboutthegrammaticalknowledgethatlearners
have,thenonealsomusthaveameanstodeterminewhichsentenceslearnersthinkarepossibleinasecondlanguage(i.e.,grammatical)andwhicharenotpossiblein
asecondlanguage(i.e.,ungrammatical).Toaccomplishthis,datacollectionfromasourceotherthanlanguageproductionmaybenecessary(seeadditionaldiscussion
inGass,1997).
Inadditiontodeterminingactualknowledgeofthesecondlanguage,onealsoneedstounderstandhowthatknowledgecomesabout.Forthis,therearevarious
methodologicaltoolsthatonecanuse.Theimportantpointisthatmostprocessesinvolvedinlearningarenotdirectlyobservable.Allthatisobservableiswhata
learnerproduces,inwritingorinspeech.
Variousmethodshavebeenusedinthefieldofsecondlanguageresearchtodetermineunderlyinglinguisticknowledge,includingaskinglearnerstointrospectabout
theirknowledge.Thefocusofthisbook,stimulatedrecall,isonesuchmethod,generallyclassifiedunderthebroadercovertermofintrospection.Likemost
methodologicaltools,introspectionhashadalonghistoryandhasfallenintodisfavoralongitspath.However,itisnowbeingusedonceagainwithsomefrequency
andwithincreasedconfidence.Inthischapter,wecontextualizestimulatedrecallthroughanexaminationofthebroaderareaofintrospection,withafocusonverbal
reportingand,inparticular,ontheplaceofstimulatedrecallinintrospectivemethods.Webegintheexaminationbybrieflyconsideringsomeofthehistoricalcontextof
introspection.Wethenpresentabroadhistoricalandphilosophicalcontext,inordertodocumenttherichbackgroundworkonstimulatedrecallasanintrospective
method.

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IntrospectiveMethods
Thereisalonghistoryofuseofreflectionsonmentalprocesses,originatinginthefieldsofphilosophyandpsychology.Lyons(1986)tracedthishistorytoAugustine
andpossiblytoAristotleinwesternthought.Suchmentalisticreflectionsareoftenclassifiedasmethodsofintrospection.Asmentionedpreviously,suchmethodshave
beeninandoutoffavorinscholarlycircles.Introspectionassumesthatapersoncanobservewhattakesplaceinconsciousnessinmuchthesamewayasonecan
observeeventsintheexternalworld.LyonscitedthedefinitionofintrospectionintheConcieOxfordEnglishDictionaryas"theexaminationorobservationofone's
mentalprocesses"(p.1).Thisbroaddefinitionsubsumesanumberofdifferentapproaches,and,asadefinition,hasproventobetoogeneralformanyscholars,
especiallythoseatpainstodistancethemselvesfromintrospection.1
Ourpresentdaynuancesofthetermintrospectionarebasedontheepitomeofintrospection,whatLyons(1986)calledthe"goldenageofintrospection"(p.2),
coveringthetimeframefromthe17thcenturytotheearlypartofthe20thcentury.AseminalfigureinintrospectionisDescartes.AbasicpremiseofDescartes'work
(e.g.,1637)wasthenotionofmindasaseparateentity:Aperson'smindisfundamentallyseparatefromaperson'sbodyaperson'smindisalsofundamentally
separatefromthemindsofothers.2Withthisbackground,weturnnowtoadiscussionofthepotentialusefulnessofreflection.
TheUsefulnessofReflectionsonMentalProcesses
Inthissectionweconsiderhowtheuseofreflectionsonmentalprocesseshasbeenconceived.Afundamentalquestioniswhethercertaintypesofreflectionmightbe
moreusefulthanothers.Onecomponent
1

IntrospectionhasmetmuchthesamefateasthetermliberalincontemporaryAmericanpolitics.Conservativesclassifyvirtuallyalltheiropponentsunderthebroadtermof
liberalism.Theopponentslargelyadoptadifferenttermforthemselves.Thosefurthertotheleftmightcallthemselvesradicals(popularinthe1960s).Thoseclosertothemiddle
mightchooseprogressiveormoderate.Fewproudlycallthemselvesliberal.Fewscholarsinthemiddletolate20thcenturycalltheirmethodintrospection.
2

Intoday'sacademicclimate,neitherdistinctionisaccepteduncritically.Forexample,thereisnoevidenceinneurologyforamentalorganthatcannotbeaffectedbysomaticfactors.
Alzheimer'sdiseaseandvasculardementiahavephysicalcauses.

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ofusefulnessofanyinvestigativemethodishowlikelythatmethodistoproduce'true'results.Theissueoftruthisacomplexone,anditisbeyondthescopeofthis
booktoexamineitindetail.Nonetheless,twotestscanbeattempted:falsifiabilityandreplicability.Ifastatementcannotbefalsifiedatall,thensomewouldconsiderit
outsidetherealmofscience,thatis,notwithinthetrue,atleastinCanguilhem'sterminology(1989,1994).Hence,wewouldwantanyselfdescriptionaboutmental
processestobefalsifiableinpractice.Sucharesultisnotalwayseasytoachieve.ConsiderWittgenstein's(1958)discussionsofhowcertainwecanbeaboutanother
person'sexpressionsofpain.Wittgensteinlikenedmeaningtoaropemadeupofmanystrandstwistedtogetherandarguedthatwecanneverreallyknowtheexact
meaningthatanotherpersonintendstoconvey.Philosophyapart,presumably,someselfdescriptionsofmentalprocessesmightbemorefalsifiablethanothers.
Replicabilitypresentssimilarproblems.Ifonepersonreportssomementalprocess,howcouldtheseprocessesbereplicatedatanothertimeinthesamepersonor
eveninanotherperson?
Weturntoaconsiderationofdifferentwaysofclassifyingmentalprocesses.Onerelevanttaxonomyistemporallybased.Classicalintrospectionisatemporal.In
decidinguponhisfamousphrase,"Cogitoergosum,"Descarteswasnotreflectingonhismentalfunctioningatthemomentofthinking,orofanyparticulartime,butof
hismentalfunctioningingeneral.Wemightwellquestionwhetheritispossibletothinkaboutmentalprocessesingeneralwithoutrecallingsomeexperiencein
particular.Thus,wemayquestionwhetheratemporalintrospectionisreallyaformofretrospection(weelaborateinchap.3ondifferenttypesofintrospectionand
retrospection).Itisdifficultenoughtogainawarenessofmentalfunctioningtryingtorecallpastinstancesmightproveparticularlytroublesome.Runningcommentary
andstimulatedrecall,weargue,maybemorereliable(e.g.,chap.4).3
3

ConsiderananalogicalargumentaboutevidenceintheAmericanlegalsystem.Generally,hearsayevidence(i.e.,reportsofwhatwassaidatsomeearliertime)isconsidered
unreliable,andrulesofevidencelargelymakehearsaytestimonyinadmissibleincourt.Therearevariousexceptions,however,forwhichhearsayevidenceisadmissible.The
typicalrationalizationfortheseexceptionsisthathearsayinthoseparticularcircumstancesisunusuallyreliable.Oneexception,forexample,isanexcitedutterance.Ifsomeone
yellsout,"Thatredcarjustrantheredlightandhitthattruck"inanexcitedmanner,thensheisquitelikelydescribingwhatshereallythoughtshesaw.Thefactthatapersonwas
excitedwhenshemadehercommentsissupposedtorendertestimonyreliablebecause,insomesense,shedidnothavetheopportunitytowork

(footnotecontinuedonnextpage)

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Anotherdistinctionthatcanbemadeinvolvestheparticularsofthementalprocessesthatweattempttodescribe.Perhapsthemostaccepteddescriptionsareof
judgments,suchasacceptabilityjudgmentscommoninlinguisticresearch.ThesehavebeenaptlydescribedbyHabermas(1979)asareconstructiveapproach.Native
speakersofalanguage,atleastinclearcases,knowthatsomethingisorisnotacceptableinthatlanguage.
WilhelmWundt(1894),oneofthefoundersofexperimentalpsychology,studiedlanguageindetailandpracticedintrospection,buthedidnotuseintrospective
methodsinstudyingthepsychologyoflanguage.Tothecontrary,hefeltthatintrospectivemethodswouldnotprovesuccessfulininvestigatinglanguagebecause,inhis
view,languagewasasocialphenomenon.Clearly,Wundt'sviewandpracticeofintrospectionasamethodofselfobservation,andthephenomenahedescribed,
differfromtheverbalizationsofthoughtprocesses,whichareinpopularusetodayandwhichformthemaintopicofthisbook.
AninterestingmodelformentalphenomenaisDennett's(1987)analogyofmentalprocessingandmagictricks.AccordingtoDennett,theawarenesswehaveof
mentalprocessingismuchliketheawarenesswehaveofamagictrick.Weobserveamagictrickandcanseewhatmustbeexplained,butsimplyobservingthetrick
doesnottypicallyleadtoanunderstandingformostpeopleabouthowthemagicianpulledoffthetrick.Thetrickprovidestheexplanandum,ratherthantheexplicans.
Asindividualsattemptingtoreportourmentalprocesses,wecanonlyreportwhatweareconsciousof.Wehavenoaccesstowhatisreallyoccurringatanyother
level.4
Onedifficultywiththeprocedureofintrospectionisthathumansareessentiallysensemakingbeingsandtendtocreateexplanations,whethersuchexplanationscanbe
justifiedornot.ThisisthecentralthesisofDennett's(1987)book,TheIntentionalStance.Hearguedthatwetendtounderstandactivitiesasiftheyaretheproduct
ofsomemeaningproducingentity.Recentexperimentsonsplitbrainpatients
(footnotecontinuedfrompreviouspage)
outascript,topracticeorcontrolherstatements.Shewasovercomebytheimmediacyoremotionoftheevent.Anotherexception,alsorelevantforus,isapresentsense
impression.Playbyplaycommentary,asinasportingevent,ismuchmorelikelytobereliable,intheeyesoflegalauthority,thannarratingtheeventafterward.Ifthisistruein
general,itisprobablyevenmoretruefordifficulttodescribeexperiencessuchasmentalfunctioning.
4

Peoplemaybetrainedtobemoreobservantabouttheirreflectiveprocesses.Wediscussthisinmoredetailinchapter3.

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(i.e.,individualswithaseveredcorpuscallosumfortheseindividuals,themostefficientcommunicationpathwaybetweenthetwocerebralhemispheresisnolonger
functional)indicatethatthelefthemispheresofourbrains,areexcellentatproducingmeaningfulexplanations,evenifinerror(Gazzaniga,1998).Forsplitbrain
patients,itispossibletoshowpicturestobothhemispheressimultaneously.Formostindividuals,onlythelefthemisphereisabletocreateanarration.Inone
experiment,patientswereaskedtopointtothepicturefromasetthatbestcorrespondedtowhattheysaw.Therighthandiscontrolledbythelefthemisphereand
viceversa.Bothhandsofallthepatientswereequallyadeptatthepicturematchingtest.However,onlythelefthemisphere(whichcontrolstherighthand)wasableto
constructacoherentnarrativeofwhyaparticularpicturewasappropriate.Iftheindividualwereaskedwhytheobjectpointedtobythelefthandwaschosen,theleft
hemispheredidnotknowandtherighthemispherecouldnotsay.Gazzanigafoundthatthelefthemisphereconstructedaplausiblestoryrelatingwhatthelefthand
pointedtoandwhatthelefthemispheresaw.Thisexperimentdemonstratesthathumanbeingstendtocreateexplanationsforphenomena,evenwhenthese
explanationsmaynotbewarranted.Thisfindingisimportantwhenconsideringintrospectivemethodsbecauseclearlythereisadangerthatindividualsmaycreate
plausiblestoriesforotherdescriptionsofmentalactivity,withoutreallyknowingwhatisgoingon.
IntrospectionandBehaviorism
Introspection,asamethodologicaltool,fellintodisfavorwiththeriseofbehaviorism.Themaingoalofbehaviorismwastogaininformationabouthumanbehavior,not
throughlookinginwards,butbyobserving,measuring,andinterpretinghumanbehavior.Watson(1913,ascitedinLyons,1986)stated:
psychologyasthebehavioristviewsitisapurelyobjectiveexperimentalbranchofnaturalscience.Itstheoreticalgoalisthepredictionandcontrolofbehavior.Introspection
formsnoessentialpartofitsmethods,noristhescientificvalueofitsdatadependentupon

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thereadinesswithwhichtheylendthemselvestointerpretationintermsofconsciousness.(p.23)

Thesecommentsandothersimilaroneswereareactiontosomeoftheearlyworkinthefieldofpsychology(suchasthatbyTitchener,1908,andWundt,1894,as
discussedbyBlumenthal,1970)thatreliedheavilyontechniquesofintrospectionasawayofgaininginsightintothehumanmind.AsLieberman(1979)pointedout,
however,thetechniquesofintrospectionusedbytheearlyexperimentalistswerequitedifferentfromintrospectiontechniquesoftoday.Inearlieryearsofintrospection
asamethodology,participantswentthroughsignificanttrainingbeforecarryingouttheintrospectionprocess.LiebermannotedthatinWundt'slaboratoryparticipants
hadto"practiceatleast10,000separateintrospections"(p.320)beforebeingconsideredqualifiedtoparticipateinanactualintrospection.Thisisclearlyproblematic
inthatthemerefactofpracticemayalterthoughtprocesses(seechap.5),especiallypracticeinsuchincredibleamounts.Patternsofbehaviorandpreconceptions
wouldbeestablished,makingitunclearwhatparticipantswereaccessing.
Thenotionofconsciousnesshasalwaysbeenaconceptsubjecttodebateinthefieldofpsychology,andintrospectionwasonceseenasawayofaccessto
consciousness.Introspectiveanalysisassumedthatthefunctioningsofthemindwereinfactaccessibletoobservation.However,Freud'spopularperspectiveclearly
madeittheoreticallyimpracticaltoviewthehumanmindinthisway.
Duringtheyearswhentheoriesofbehaviorismwereinascendanceinthefieldofpsychology(fromabouttheturnofthecentury),consciousnesswasnotafavoredor
evenavalidareaofresearch.Thetoolsusedtoinvestigateitwerealsosummarilydismissed.Thedebatebecameevensharperin1920whenWatson(citedbyLyons,
1986)stated:
Itisaseriousmisunderstandingofthebehavioristicpositiontosay..."Andofcourseabehavioristdoesnotdenythatmentalstatesexist.Hemerelypreferstoignorethem."
He"ignores"theminthesamesensethatchemistryignoresalchemy,astronomyhoroscopy,andpsychologytelepathyandpsychicmanifestations.Thebehavioristdoesnot
concernhimselfwiththembe

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causeasthestreamofhissciencebroadensanddeepenssucholderconceptsaresuckedunder,nevertoreappear.(p.24)

Inotherwords,consciousnesswasnotaseriousenterpriseandhadasmuchvalidityassomeofthe"quack"sciences.Notonlyweretheretheoreticaldifficultieswith
theconceptofintrospectionasanathematobehaviorism,butalsomuchoftheearlyworkusingintrospectionproceededuncriticallyanduncontroversially(asnotedby
Ericsson&Simon,1993).Withthelackofscientificrigor,itwasnotsurprisingthattheresultsemanatingfromintrospectionwereinconsistent.Hence,itwasargued
thatthemethoditselfwasatfaultandshouldbeeliminatedfromtherepertoireofmethodologiesusedinpsychology.Thisresultedinwhatcanbetermed'throwingout
thebabywiththebathwater.'5
B.F.Skinner(1953,1957),theinfluentialpsychologistandbehaviorist,emphasizedtheimportanceofobservablebehaviorsinpsychology.Asascience,psychology
wasconducted(aswerenaturalsciences),bycontrollingvariablestodeterminetheireffectson,inthecaseofpsychology,behaviors.AccordingtoLyons(1986),
behavioristexplanationsofinternal(mental)eventswereintermsofcovert(inner),reduced(tobehavior)andunemittedformsofexternalbehavior.By1953,
however,Skinneracknowledgedthatinnereventscouldbeobservedbythepossessorofthem.6This,inasense,wentsomewayto
5

ThereisaninterestingparallelfromtheSLAliterature.IntheearlyyearsofsystematicSLAstudies,muchworkwasconductedwithintheframeworkofbehaviorism(see
descriptioninGass&Selinker,1994).Inparticular,earlyworkontransfertraditionallyfocusedonbehavioralaspectsoftransfer.Withthedemiseofbehaviorism,itwasimportant
withinanSLAcontexttoshowthatSLAwasnotabehavioristicactivity.Thisentailedthrowingofftheshacklesoflanguagetransfer.Thatis,becausetransferwasstrongly
associatedwithbehavioristthought,toshowthatL2learningwasnotabehavioristactivity,researchersargued(Bailey,Madden,&Krashen,1974Dulay&Burt,1974a,1974b,
1975)thattransferwasnotamajororevenanimportantfactorforL2learning.Thelinkbetweenbehaviorismanditstoolsofanalysisononehandanditstheoreticalextensionson
theotheroftenwentunchallengedwiththedemiseofthetheory.Asaconsequence,onesawadeemphasisofalltransferresearch.ItwasonlywithworkbyGass(1979),
Kellerman(1979),Sjoholm(1976),andothers,thatresearchersbegantoquestionaninextricablelinkbetweenbehaviorismandtheuseofthenativelanguage.Researchduringthe
pasttwodecadesontheroleofthenativelanguagehastakenadifferentview,consistentwithanonbehavioristposition,andhasquestionedtheassumptionthatlanguage
transferhastobepartofbehaviorism.
6

ThisviewofSkinnerianpsychologyissomewhatsimplistic,ItisclearthatSkinnerhadamuchmorecomplextheoryinmind.Hearguedthatinnereventsarelimitedintheir
accessibilityanddonothaveanyspecialstructure.Hence,theyarenotthesameastheobservableeventsthathe

(footnotecontinuedonnextpage)

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Page9

wardlegitimizingintrospectionasaresearchtool.Lyons(1986)pointedoutthatthefailureofbehavioriststoaccountforthe"problemofprivacy"(p.44)ledto
"currentcentralist(braincentered)psychologiesandphilosophies"(p.44).Heclaimsthat''Whatwegainaccessto...isaprivateandpersonalstorehouseofmyriad
publicperformances,editedand'replayed'accordingtolargelystereotypedviewsaboutourcognitivelife"(p.148).Inotherwords,theaccesstoactualcognitive
processesisnotdirectbutis,asLyonsputit,replayedthroughmemory.
BehaviorismandtheStudyofLanguage
Linguisticdataintheearlierpartofthiscenturywerecollectedbymeansofobservationlinguisticgeneralizationsweremadebygatheringspeechsamplesfrom
individualsandthenanalyzingthosedataintermsofthepatternsthattheyrepresented.Bloomfield(1933),inarewriteofhisearly1914work,spokeofmentalistic
andmentalistpsychology.
Thementalistswouldsupplementthefactsoflanguagebyaversionintermsofmind,aversionwhichwilldifferinthevariousschoolsofmentalisticpsychology.The
mechanistsdemandthatthefactsbepresentedwithoutanyassumptionofsuchauxiliaryfactors.(p.vii)

Withtheadventofcognitivepsychologiesandtheirfocusoninternalevents,suchasprocessing(cf.Bruner,Goodnow,&Austin,1956Miller,Galanter,&Pribram,
1960Newell&Simon,1956)andwithChomsky's(1957,1959)attackonSkinnerianbehaviorism,anewcli
(footnotecontinuedfrompreviouspage)
wasinterestedin.Inhis1953book,Skinnerclearlyacknowledgesthegrayareabetweenpublic(observable)andprivate(internal):
Thelinebetweenpublicandprivateisnotfixed.Theboundaryshiftswitheverydiscoveryofatechniqueformakingprivateeventspublic.Behaviorwhichisofsuchsmall
magnitudethatitisnotordinarilyobservedmaybeamplified.Covertverbalbehaviormaybedetectedinslightmovementsofthespeechapparatus....Theproblemofprivacymay,
therefore,eventuallybesolvedbytechnicaladvances.Butwearestillfacedwitheventswhichoccurattheprivatelevelandwhichareimportanttotheorganismwithout
instrumentalamplification.Howtheorganismreactstotheseeventswillremainanimportantquestion,eventhoughtheeventsmaysomedaybemadeaccessibletoeveryone.(p.
282)

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matethatallowedforintrospectionarose.And,withregardtoteaching,thenewresearchparadigmsopenednewdoors.Forexample,workinginthefieldofgeneral
education,Shulman(1986)notedthat:
tounderstandadequatelythechoicesteachersmakeinclassrooms,thegroundsfortheirdecisionsandjudgmentsaboutpupils,andthecognitiveprocessesthroughwhichthey
selectandsequencetheactionstheyhavelearnedtotakewhileteaching,wemuststudytheirthoughtprocessesbefore,during,andafterteaching.(p.23)

ShulmanreferredtohisearlierworkwithElstein(Shulman&Elstein,1975)inpointingoutthreemaintypesofcognitiveprocessresearchwhendealingwithteaching:
judgmentandpolicy,problemsolving,anddecisionmaking.Fromsuchworkineducation,itisclearthattherewasanevolvingrequirementforsomesortofverbal
reporting,atleastwhenexploringissuessuchasproblemsolvinganddecisionmaking.Uncoveringcognitiveprocesseswasclearlyacomplexissue,andthedoorwas
openedtoaconsiderationofintrospection.
Inthecaseofresearchinlinguistics,therejectionofbehaviorismconcurrentlypromotedatypeofintrospectionasthemainlinguisticmethodology:Grammaticality
judgments7,8havebeenusedsincetheearlydaysoftransformationalgrammar.Linguistsoftenuseintrospectionasasourcefortheirowntheoreticalwork.AsBard,
Robertson,andSorace(1996)stated"Formanylinguists,intuitionsaboutthegrammaticalityofsentencescomprisetheprimarysourceofevidenceforandagainst
theirhypotheses"(p.32).Notonlydolinguistsuse
7

Thisisthecommonnamegiventojudgmentsonemakesaboutthegrammaticalityofanutterance.Technicallyspeaking,however,whenoneprovidesinformationabout
sentencesorutterances,oneismakinganacceptabilityjudgment.Grammaticalityreferstowhatisgeneratedbythegrammaracceptabilityjudgmentsarejudgmentsofwell
formedness.Grammaticality,reflectingcompetence,isnotdirectlyaccessibleitisinferredthroughjudgmentsofacceptability.
8

ThisbookisnottheplacetoengageinadetailedcommentaryontheroleofgrammaticalityjudgmentsinSLAresearch.Sufficeittosaythatitisnotastraightforwardmeasureandit
isnotuniversallyregardedasavalidorreliablemeasure.Somehavearguedthatresearcherswhousegrammaticalityjudgmentsdosoundertheassumptionthattheyaredirectly
tappingcompetence(Carroll&Meisel,1990Ellis,1990,1991).Thisbeliefisnotwellfounded.Researcherswhohaveusedthismeasurehavetypicallyacknowledgedthatcompetence
inthelinguisticsenseisnotdirectlyaccessibleandthatitcanonlybeinferredfromperformance,withacceptabilityjudgmentsthemselvesbeingaperformancemeasure(Cook,1990
Gass,1994White,1989).

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themselvesasintrospectiveresources,butwhengatheringinformationaboutlanguagesunknowntothem,theyaskothersfortheirintuitionsaboutacceptabilityand
unacceptabilityintheirnativelanguage.
VerbalReporting
VerbalreportingisaspecialtypeofintrospectionandassumesamodelofinformationprocessingdescribedbyEricssonandSimon(1987).
Toobtainverbalreports,asnewinformation(thoughts)entersattention,thesubjectsshouldverbalizethecorrespondingthoughtorthoughts...thenewincominginformationis
maintainedinattentionuntilthecorrespondingverbalizationofitiscompleted.(p.32)

EricssonandSimonillustratedtheirperspectiveasshowninFig.1.1.Inthetoppaneloftheirdiagram,silentthinkingisillustrated.Inthemiddle,talkaloudappears.
Thisisavocalizationofsilentspeech.Inthebottompanelverbalencodingorthinkaloudappears.EricssonandSimonclaimedthattheinformationtobereported
doesnotchangedependingonthemediumofthetask(i.e.,whetherthecognitiveworkisdonesilentlyorverbally).ThetoppanelofFig.1.1representsanormal
sequenceofstatesofheededinformation(i.e.,thoughts).Themiddlepanel,representingtalkalouddata,illustratesthevocalizationofsilentspeech.Inthebottom
panel,thinkaloud,individualshavetoconvertsilentspeechintoaformthatcanthenbevocalized.Thus,goingfromthetoppaneltothebottompanelinvolves
increasinglevelsoftaskcomplexity.Whatisimportantforourpresentpurposeisthefactthatinastudycomparingperformanceonthesethreetasks,Ericssonand
Simon(1984)foundsimilaritiesintheresponses.Notsurprisingly,therewasadifferenceinthetimeneededtocompleteeachofthesetasktypesthinkaloudstook
longertoperformthantheothers.
Verbalreportdatahasalsobeensubcategorized.Forexample,Cohen(1998)outlinedthreeprimarycategorieshesuggestsareusedinsecondlanguageresearch:

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Page12

Fig.1.1.
Thestatesofheededinformationinacognitiveprocessandtheir
relationtoverbalizationsunderthreedifferentconditions.FromEriccsonand
Simon(1987).ReprintedwithpermissionofMultilingualMatters.
Selfreport.Withselfreportdata,onecangaininformationaboutgeneralapproachestosomething.Forexample,"Iamasystematiclearnerwhenitcomestolearningasecond
language."ThissortofstatementmightbefoundonatypicalL2learningquestionnaire.Suchstatementsareremovedfromtheeventinquestionandareoflessconcernherethan
othertypesofverbalreporting.

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Selfobservation.Selfobservationdatacanbeintrospective(withinashortperiodoftheevent)orretrospective.Alearnerreportsonwhatsheorhedid.Anexampleprovidedby
Cohen(p.34)is"WhatIjustdidwastoskimthroughtheincomingoraltextaslistened,pickingoutkeywordsandphrases."Suchselfobservationsrefertospecificeventsand
arenotasgeneralizedasselfreportdata.
Selfrevelation.Thisiswhatisoftendescribedasthinkaloud.Aparticipantprovidesanongoingreportofhisorherthoughtprocesseswhileperformingsometask.

Ingeneral,introspectivereportscanbeconsideredasdifferingalonganumberofdimensions:currency(i.e.,timeframe),form(i.e.,oral,written),tasktype(i.e.,think
aloud,talkaloud,retrospective),andsupport.TheseintrospectivetypesareschematizedinFig.1.2.
Thetermprocesstracingisalsousedtorefertomethodologiesofverbalreporting.Shavelson,Webb,andBurstein(1986)outlinedthreetypesofprocesstracing.
Thefirstisthinkaloudortalkaloudduringatask.Thisisgenerallyknownasverbalreporting(cf.vanSomeren,Barnard,&Sandberg,1994).Thesecondinvolves
thinkingaboutapreviouslyperformedtask(i.e.,retrospectiveprotocols),andthethirdinvolvesapromptedinterview,forexample,watchingavideoofanevent,
listeningtoanaudiorecordingofanevent,orevenseeingapieceofwritingjustcompleted.Thislatterisknownasstimulatedrecall.vanSomeren,etal.(1994)were
carefultopointoutthatthethinkaloudmethod"isameanstovalidateorconstructtheoriesofcognitiveprocesses,inparticularofproblemsolving"(p.9).
Despitedifferentterminology,verbalreportingcanbeseenasgatheringdatabyaskingindividualstovocalizewhatisgoingthroughtheirmindsastheyaresolvinga
problemorperformingatask.Verbalreportingallowsresearcherstoobservehowindividualsmaybesimilarordifferentintheirapproachtoproblems.Thethink
aloudprotocolsillustratedinFig.1.3(vanSomerenetal.,pp.56)illustratetwoverydifferentthoughtprocessesduringthesolvingofthesameproblem.
AsvanSomerenetal.(1994)pointedout,thesetwoprotocols,producedbytwoindividualswhoeventuallyarrivedatthecorrectanswer,reflectverydifferent
problemsolvingapproaches:onealgebraicandonehitormisscombinedwithlogic(e.g.,howoldamotherorfather

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Page14

Fig.1.2.
TypesofIntrospection

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Problemtobesolved:Afather,amotherandtheirsonare80yearsoldtogether.Thefatheris
twiceasoldastheson.Themotherhasthesameageasthefather.Howoldistheson?
Student1

Student2

1.afather,amotherandtheirsonaretogether80years
old
2.thefatheristwiceasoldastheson
3.themotherisasoldasthefather
4.howoldistheson?
5.Well,thatsoundscomplicated
6.let'shavealook
7.IjustcallthemF,MandS
8.FplusMplusSis80
9.Fis2timesS
10.andMequalsF
11.whatdowehavenow?
12.threeequationsandthreeunknowns
13.soS...
14.2timesFplusSis80
15.so4timesSplusSis80
16.so5timesSis80
17.Sis16
18.yes,thatispossible
19.sofatherandmotherare80minus16
20.64
21.et...32.

1.father,motherandsonaretogether80years
old
2.howisthatpossible?
3.ifsuchafatheris30andmothertoo
4.thenthesonis20
5.no,thatisnotpossible
6.ifyouare30,youcannothaveasonof20
7.sotheyshouldbeolder
8.about35,moreorless
9.let'shavealook
10.thefatheristwiceasoldastheson
11.soifheis35andtheson17
12.no,thatisnotpossible
13.36and18
14.thenthemotheris
15.36plus18is54
16.26...
17.well,itmightbepossible
18.no,thensheshouldhavehadachildwhenshe
was9
19.oh,no
20.nothefathershould,themothershouldbe
older
21.forexample30
22.butthenIwillnothave80
23.80minus30,50
continued

(textboxcontinuedonnextpage)

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24.thenthefathershouldbenearly35andthesonnearly
18
25.somethinglikethat
26.let'shavealook,whereamI?
27.thefatheristwice...
28.themotherisasoldasthefather
29.ohdear
30.mymother,wellnotmymother
31.butmymotherwas30andmyfathernearly35
32.thatisnotpossible
33.ifImakethemboth33
34.thenIhavetogether66
35.thenthereisfortheson...24
36.no,thatisimpossible
37.Idon'tunderstanditanymore
38.66,...,80
39.no,wait,thesonis14
40.almost,theparentsaretooold
41.32,32,64,16,yes
42.thesonis16andtheparents32,together80

Fig.1.3.
Protocolofproblemsolving.ReprintedfromvanSomerenetal.,TheThinkAloudMethod,
pp.56,1994,bypermissionofthepublisherAcademicPress.

waslikelytohavebeenwhenthechildwasborn).Itisonlythroughathinkaloudprocedurethatthesedifferencesinprocessmanifestthemselves.Consideringsimply
theoutcomewouldonlyprovidetheinformationthattheseindividualsarrivedatthesame(correct)answer.
Aswithanymethodologicaltool,thereareadvantagesandlimitationstotheuseofverbalreporting.Themajoradvantageoftheuseofverbalreportisthatonecan
oftengainaccesstoprocessesthatareun

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Page17

availablebyothermeans(aswasthecasewiththemathematicalproblemsolvingtranscriptsdiscussedearlier).However,itisalsopossibletoquestiontheextentto
whichverbalreportdataarevalidandreliable.Forexample,arethereportsgivenconsistentwiththebehaviorofparticipants?Variousresearchers(e.g.,Ericsson&
Simon,1980andLieberman,1979)haveshownthatverbalreportsarereliablemeasuresandthatresultsobtainedusingverbalreportsdocorrespondwithactual
behavior.
Notallisrosy,however,fortherearealsolimitationstotheuseofverbalreportsasdata.Oneissuehastodowiththeaccuracyofthereporting.Thisisparticularly
thecaseinselfreportandselfobservationaldata.Asecondissuehastodowiththetypeofmemorystructureusedinrecalls.Withselfreportandselfobservational
data,whenthetimebetweentheeventreportedandthereportingitselfisshort,thereisagreaterlikelihoodthatthereportingwillbeaccurate.
StimulatedRecall
Stimulatedrecallisoneoftheintrospectivemethods.Asdiscussedearlier,stimulatedrecallmethodologycanbeusedtopromptparticipantstorecallthoughtsthey
hadwhileperformingataskorparticipatinginanevent.Itisassumedthatsometangible(perhapsvisualoraural)reminderofaneventwillstimulaterecallofthe
mentalprocessesinoperationduringtheeventitself.Inotherwords,thetheoreticalfoundationforstimulatedrecallreliesonaninformationprocessingapproach
wherebytheuseofandaccesstomemorystructuresisenhanced,ifnotguaranteed,byapromptthataidsintherecallofinformation.
WhyisstimulatedrecallimportantforL2research?Whatisthefunctionofthismethodologicaltool?AsDiPardo(1994)aptlypointedout,"stimulatedrecallis...less
aunifiedapproachthanaflexibletoolthathasbeenadaptedtowidelyvariedagendas,andattendedbyanumberofspecificmethodologicalchoices"(p.168).
Throughtheuseofstimulatedrecall,"asubjectmaybeenabledtoreliveanoriginalsituationwithgreatvividnessandaccuracyifheispresentedwithalargenumberof
thecuesorstimuliwhichoccurredduringtheoriginalsituation"(Bloom,1954,p.25).

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Acrucialassumptionbehindstimulatedrecall(oranytypeofrecall)isthebasiconeofrecallaccuracy.Bloom(1954)attemptedtoverifythereliabilityofrecallby
recordingclassroomeventsandaskingparticipantstorecallanoverteventthatoccurredimmediatelyfollowingsomethingintherecording.Hefoundthatiftherecalls
werepromptedashortperiodoftimeaftertheevent(generally48hours),recallwas95%accurate.Accuracydeclinedasafunctionoftheinterveningtimebetween
theeventandtherecall.Bloommadetheassumptionthat"therecallofone'sownprivate,consciousthoughtsapproximatestherecalloftheovert,observable
events"(p.26).Thus,heargued,therecallmethoditselfisvalidfortheprocurementofinformationaboutone'sthoughtsduringanevent.Ithasanadvantageovera
simpleposthocinterviewinthatthelatterreliesheavilyonmemorywithoutanypromptsandithasanadvantageoverthinkaloudprotocolsinthatforthinkalouds,
theresearcherneedstotrainparticipants,andevenaftertraining,notallparticipantsarecapableofcarryingoutataskandsimultaneouslytalkingaboutdoingthetask.
Thisholdstruetoagreaterextentwithspeakingactivities,forwhichitisextremelydifficultifnotimpossibletocarryoutaspeakingtaskandtalkaboutit
simultaneously,withouttheprocessofthinkaloudaffectingthetasktalk.
WhereasBloom'sconcernwastheclassroom,theideasbehindstimulatedrecallhavebeenextendedtootherareas.Forexample,Kagan,Krathwohl,andMiller
(1963),inatechniquethattheycallInterpersonalProcessRecall(partofstimulatedrecallmethodology)investigatedinterpersonalbehavior.Intheirinteresting
implementationofthetechnique,acounselorandclientparticipateinacounselinginterviewinaclosedcircuittelevisionstudio.Thecameraispresent,andnoonebut
thecounselorandclientareintheroom.Atthecompletionoftheinterview,theclientandcounseloraremovedtoseparateroomseachisaccompaniedbyan
interviewer.Thevideotapeoftheoriginalsessionisplayedbacksimultaneouslyinbothrooms.Theinterviewersinstructtheparticipants(counselorandclient)to
describewhattheywerefeelingduringthesession,tointerpretwhattheyortheotherhadsaid,andtotranslatebodymovements.Anyofthefour(i.e.,counselor,
client,twointerviewers)couldstopthetapewhentheywantedinordertocommentortoprobe.
Stimulatedrecallhasalsobeenusedasatoolforteachertrainingandtoevaluateteachingeffectiveness.PetersonandClark(1978)video

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Page19

tapedclassroomsandextractedfromthevideotapesfourshort(23minute)segmentsrepresentingthebeginningandendingoftheclassandtworandomsequencesin
between.Specificquestionswereposedtoteachersaftertheywatchedeachsegment:Whatwereyoudoingandwhy?Whatwereyounoticingaboutthestudents?
Howwerethestudentsresponding?Wereyouthinkingofanyalternativeactionsorstrategiesatthattime?Didanystudents'reactionscauseyoutoactdifferentlythan
youhadplanned?Variationsonthisstudy(Clark&Peterson,1981Marx&Peterson,1981)involveddifferentamountsofteachingtimeandincludedthefollowing
questionsinadditiontotheprecedingones:Didyouhaveanyparticularobjectivesinmindinthissegment?Ifso,whatwerethey?Doyourememberanyaspectsof
thesituationthatmighthaveaffectedwhatyoudidinthissegment?
Someresearchersusestimulatedrecalltouncoverthingsotherthanthosethatareexclusivelycognitivelyoriented.Forexample,questionsaboutindividuals'
perspectivesonlearning(Erickson&Mohatt,1977)canbeexplored,ascantheirimpressionsofsocialinteractions.Stimulatedrecallcanalsobeusedtoexplore
children'sdevelopment,includingtheiruseofargumentskills(Benoit,1995)ortheirreasoningabilities(Hample,1984).Onecanalsousestimulatedrecalltoprobe
solitarycomposingprocessesinL1orL2writing(Rose,1984)orinteractionsoftheirsocialaffectiveandlinguisticissuesintalkaboutwritingDiPardo,1994).Itcan
beusedtoexplorereaders'lexicalretrievalmechanismsortheiropinionsandimpressionsaboutwhattheyhaveread.Stimulatedrecallisoftenusedtoaddress
questionsinresearchonteachersandtheiractions,includingtheirdecisionmakingandinteractivethoughts(Calderhead,1981a,1981b).Theuncoveringofcognitive
processesinL2researchisonlyoneareawherestimulatedrecallcanbeused,althoughitisprobablybestknownforitsusesinmorecognitivelyorientedresearch.
Finally,itshouldbenotedthatstimulatedrecallisoftenemployedinconjunctionwithothermethodologies,asameansoftriangulationorfurtherexploration.
Withinthefieldofeducation,thereareanumberofvariationsonthethemeofstimulatedrecall,including,forexample,howmuchofavideoiswatchedduringthe
recallsession.InTable1.1,wepresentsomeofthesevariations.
Thereisalsovariationintermsofwhoselectswhichepisodestocommentonorwhetherthereareprescriptedquestionstorespondto.

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TABLE1.1
ASampleofStudiesUsingStimulatedRecallintheFieldofGeneralEducation
Author(s)YearWhatwasviewed?
Colker

1982

Video(twice)

Conners

1978

Video

Fogarty,Wang,andCreek

1983

Video

HousnerandGriffey

1983

Videosegments

Lowyck

1980

Video

Marland

1977

Video

McNair

197879

Video

MorineandVallance

1975

Video

Peterson,Marx,andClark

1978

Videosegments

Semmel

1977

Audio,playedbackentireevent

Shroyer

1981

Video

Woodlinger1980Video
Avarietyofspecificvariationsonthethemeofstimulatedrecallmethodologyare
discussedinchapter3.

WhatTopicsCanBeExploredUsingStimulatedRecallMethodology?
Oneofthemainaimsofintrospectivemethodologiesingeneralhasbeentoseektouncovercognitiveprocessesthatarenotevidentthroughsimpleobservation.
Althoughfulldescriptionsofthedebatessurroundingmentalprocessesandintrospectiveverbalreportsarebeyondthescopeofthisbookonmethodology,we
provideabriefoverviewhere.
Asmentionedpreviously,stimulatedrecallmethodologygenerallyappealstocognitivepsychologistsandresearcherswhoareinterestedininformationprocessingas
wellasthosewhoareinterestedinhowsecondlanguagesarelearnedandtaught.

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Cognitionisconcernedwithknowledge.Insecondlanguageresearch,thefocusisonhowlanguagespecificknowledgeisacquired,organized,andused.As
discussedearlier,stimulatedrecall,asonemethodofintrospection,appealstoresearchersbecauseitprovidesausefultoolthathelpsuncovercognitiveprocesses
whichmightnotbeevidentthroughsimpleobservation.Morespecifically,stimulatedrecallcanbeusefulforatleastthreereasons:1)itcanhelptoisolateparticular
''events"fromthestreamofconsciousness.Insodoing,itcanhelptoidentifythetypeofknowledgealearneruseswhentryingtosolveparticularcommunicative
problems,whenmakinglinguisticchoicesorjudgmentsorjustwhengenerallyinvolvedincomprehensionand/orproduction2)Stimulatedrecallcanalsohelpto
determineifthisknowledgeisbeingorganizedinspecificways.Cognitivepsychologistshaveproposedthatweemployvarioustypesof"cognitivestructures"or
"mentalrepresentations"tohelporganizethevastamountofinformationencounteredonadailybasis.Someofthesestructuresmaybefairlylonglasting,suchasthe
wayweorganizeourmentallexicon,othersmaybemoredynamicandshortlived,suchasthestructuresbuiltduringauralcomprehension3)Stimulatedrecallcanbe
usedtohelpdeterminewhenandifparticularcognitiveprocesses,suchassearch,retrievalordecisionmakingarebeingemployed.Inthefollowingsections,we
discusseachoftheseissuesinmoredetail.
KnowledgeTypes
Animportantdistinctionthatisoftenmadewhendiscussinghumaninformationprocessingisthatbetweendeclarativeknowledgeandproceduralknowledge.Inthe
contextofsecondlanguagelearning,declarativeknowledgeisthoughttobecomprisedofruleknowledgeatalllinguisticlevels,organizedinanalyzedform.Declarative
knowledgeisthoughttobedirectlyaccessiblethroughintrospectionandthusparticularlyappropriateforstudyusingstimulatedrecall.Touseoractivatedeclarative
knowledge,however,andtoextenditthroughlanguagelearning,asecondtypeofknowledge,proceduralknowledge,isclaimedtoexist.Proceduralknowledgeis
comprisedofthecognitiveandinteractionalprocessesinvolvedinthereception,production,andacquisitionoflanguage.Unlikedeclarativeknowledge,procedural
knowledgeisconsideredautomaticandinaccessibleviaintrospection

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(Frch&Kasper,1987).However,breakdownsinautomaticprocessing,suchaswhenthelearnerdoesnotunderstandsomethingduetolackofdeclarative
knowledge,mayleadtomentalstatesinwhichsomeformsofproceduralknowledgedobecomeavailabletointrospectivereport.
KnowledgeStructures
Stimulatedrecallcanhelptodetermineifdeclarativeorproceduralknowledgeisbeingorganizedinspecificways.Twoexamplesthatarerelevantforsecondlanguage
researchareplansandscripts(Nisbett&Wilson,1977a).Plans,arethoughttobementalstructuresthatwebuildduringconsciousanddeliberateplanningordecision
making.Suchplanshavetheflavorofdeclarativeknowledgeandcanbeeasilyselfmonitoredandreportedusingstimulatedrecall.Scripts,ontheotherhand,are
thoughttoprovidethefundamentalguidelinesweneedformuchoftheroutinizedorautomaticcomponentsofourbehavior.Asdiscussedabove,scriptsareclearly
relatedtoproceduralknowledge,andthusmaybehardertoexplorewithintrospectivetechniques.However,itmaystillbepossibletogainsomeinsightintothe
operationofscriptsusingstimulatedrecallmethodology.
SomeofNisbett'sexplorationshaveshownthatratherthanrelyingontheiractualmemoriesofeventsforinterpretationsoftheirownbehaviors,insomecircumstances
peoplewillrelyontheirexpectations,orscripts,toillustratewhathappened.Thelessrecentanevent,themorelikelyexpectationsratherthanmemorywillbeusedfor
interpretation.EricssonandSimon(1996)providedthefollowingexample:"ifapictureremindsoneofanoldfriend,itmaybetemptingtousethestoredinformation
aboutthatfriendtoinferwhatthepersoninthepicturelookedlike"(p.19).Toprovidealanguagerelatedexample,wemightconsiderthelanguagelearnerwho
receivesfeedbackonthegrammaticalityofherorhisutteranceduringoralinteraction.Becausethislearnerisusedtoreceivingfeedbackrelatedtomeaningor
messagecomprehensioninoraldiscussionswithnativespeakersandnottobeinggrammaticallycorrectedduringspontaneousconversation,thelearner'sscriptmay
prompthimorhertoreportthatthefeedbackprovidedwasrelatedtocomprehension,wheninfactitwasrelatedtogrammar.

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Page23

Stimulatedrecalltechniquesmayalsoassisttheresearchertogainaccesstothecognitiveprocessingofscripts(Calderhead,1981b).Reder(1982),inastudyof
whetherparticipantsusedmemoryretrievalofplausibilityjudgmentstodecidewhether10samplesentenceswerefromastorytheyhadread,foundthatwhen
memorytracesarefresh,retrievaloftheexactmemoryworksfasterandiseasierforparticipantsthanconsideringtheplausibilityofthesentences.Asmemoryfades,
plausibilityjudgmentsareeasiertomakethandirectrecallofmemory.Again,stimulatedrecallthatiscarriedoutimmediatelyaftertheeventandusesastrongstimulus
isrecommended(cf.EricssonandSimon,1980).
CognitiveProcessesandLearnerStrategies
Cognitiveprocessesrefertosearchandstoragemechanisms,toinferentialmechanismsortoretrievalprocesses.Suchprocessesaregenerallythoughttooperateatan
unconsciouslevel.Forexample,whenapersonistryingtorememberanacquaintance'sname,theyusuallyengageinspecificcognitiveprocesses,suchastryingto
rememberwhatthepersonlookslike,thelasttimetheysawhim/her,thefirstletteroftheirnameorthenumberofsyllablesintheirname.Instudiesoflexicalretrieval,
researchershaveconsistentlyfoundthatthesestepsarecarriedoutbyalmosteveryone(Aichison,1994).However,theseprocessesareusuallyunconsciousunless
oneisaskedtodescribeexactlythestepsduringtheprocessoftryingtorecallthename.Cognitiveprocessesarehighlyrelevantinthefieldofsecondlanguage
studies,whereoneneedstoinvestigatethestepslearnersgothroughastheysearchandretrievelexicalitemsandmorphosyntax.Differencesandsimilaritiesbetween
firstandsecondlanguageprocessesareobviouslyofinterest.Allthesetopicsareofgreatimportanceinthefieldofsecondlanguageresearch.Currently,thereisa
greatdealoftheoreticaldebateaboutunconsciouslearning,therolesofperception,noticingandattentioninsecondlanguagelearning.Itisprobablethatstimulated
recallprocedureswillprovideusefuldataintheongoingexplorationsofthesetopics.
Anothercognitivelyorientedaspectoflearningthatstimulatedrecallhasbeenusedtoexploreisthatoflearners'strategies.Agreatdealofresearchhasbeendirected
atexploringstrategyuse.Although

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Page24

strategiesarenotthefocusofthisbook,wereferthereadertoCohen(1998andthemanyreferencescontainedinhisbook)whoprovidesacomprehensivetreatment
ofthetopic.Also,inastudythataddressedquestionsaboutadvancedlearners,Lennon(1989)exploredlearners'strategiesthroughintrospectivemethods.Hefound
thatsomelearnersdemonstratedanorientationtowardsuncertainty,althoughtheywerefocusedoncommunicationratherthan'correctness.'Theyreportedthattheir
languagewasverymuchinfluencedbythatoftheirinterlocutor.AsLennonnotes,investigationoflearners'beliefs,attitudes,andperceptionsaboutlanguagelearning
areoftenexploredthroughstimulatedrecall.
Conclusion
Aswenotedearlier,stimulatedrecallisanimportantresearchtool,butone,likeanyotherresearchtool,thatmustbeusedwithfullknowledgeofitsstrengthsand
limitations.Stimulatedrecallmethodologieshavebeencriticizedonanumberofpoints,mostnotablyonthememorystructuresbeingaccessed,andonissuesof
reliabilityandvalidity(seeEricsson&Simon,1993Smagorinsky,1994).Althoughmanyofthesecriticismshavebeendiscussedinthepsychologicalandeducational
researchliterature,systematicexplorationsareseldomfoundwithinthesecondorforeignlanguageliterature.Withthecurrentincreaseintheuseofstimulatedrecall
methodology,L2researchersneedtobeawareofthepitfallsandproblemsnotedinthepsychology/educationalliterature.AsvanSomerenetal.(1994)noted,there
areimportantquestionsofvaliditywiththismethodology.Thus,studiesthatutilizestimulatedrecallmethodologyrequirecarefullystructuredresearchdesignstoavoid
problems.Theseissuesarediscussedindetailinchapter4.

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