Abstract: The temporal order information is recovered by a recency-based,backward serial retrieval process,according to the previous classic JOR(judgment of recency)study.The retrieval mechanism of temporal order information from short-term memory was examined carefully with the JOR and JOE(judgment of earliness)paradigms.The results showed:(1)Order information can be retrieved by either a backward serial scan or a forward serial search;(2)JOE and JOR had different effects on different parts of the study list,that is,the JOE enhanced the earlier part,and JOR strengthened the latter part,showing that they raise the corresponding d'and shorten its RT;(3)Subjects transform their reaction in special situations,depending on the memory representation of the items.

Key words: temporal order information, retrieval mechanism, judgment of earliness, judgment of recency, representation-driven processing