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Concept information

phenomenon > metamemory phenomenon > tip-of-the-pen phenomenon

Preferred term

tip-of-the-pen phenomenon  

Definition

  • A metamemory phenomenon involving the difficulty to retrieve the orthographic information of a character in a logographic writing system, accompanied by the feeling that the information is known and on the verge of being recalled.

Broader concept

Related concepts

Synonym(s)

  • tip-of-the-pen effect
  • tip-of-the-pen experience
  • tip-of-the-pen state

Belongs to group

Bibliographic citation(s)

  • • Huang, S., Lin, W., Xu, M., Wang, R., & Cai, Z. G. (2021). On the tip of the pen: Effects of character-level lexical variables and handwriter-level individual differences on orthographic retrieval difficulties in Chinese handwriting. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74(9), 1497–1511. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218211004385

    • Document type: empirical study

    • Access: closed

    • Dataset reference: Cai, Z. G. (2023, March 13). On the tip of the pen. https://osf.io/zfg5v

  • • Lin, W., Yang, T., Zheng, G., Yang, Y., Su, Y., & Wang, R. (2025). Tip-of-the-pen states in Mandarin handwriting: The effect of brief non-target language exposure. Memory & Cognition, 53(6), 1803–1819. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-025-01684-2

    • Document type: empirical study

    • Access: open

    • Dataset reference: Lin, W. (2025, January 2). Tip-of-the-pen in Mandarin handwriting: the effect of brief non-target language exposure. https://osf.io/4jhq8
  • • Yamada, J., & Takashima, H. (2001). The semantic effect on retrieval of radicals in logographic characters. Reading and Writing, 14(1), 179–194. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008139309925

    • Document type: empirical study

    • Access: closed

Creator

  • Frank Arnould

In other languages

URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/P66-KW8C360K-V

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