Recognition Over Recall
It is far easier to recognise something than to remember it from nothing.
What it is
Retrieving information from memory unaided is hard. Recognising it when it is shown is easy. Interfaces that show options, recent items, suggestions and examples let people recognise their way through instead of recalling, and every act of recall removed is friction removed.
The research
Recognition tests consistently yield far higher accuracy than recall tests for the same material, because recognition provides the cue that recall must generate.
Mandler, 1980
How to use it
Show recent and suggested
Recently viewed, popular searches, "people in your industry chose". Each is a cue that replaces a recall.
Put examples in the placeholder
A field that shows "e.g. Kitchen renovation, Manly" gets filled faster than one that says "Project".
Related
Sources that shaped this entry: growth.design.