Showing papers on "Working memory published in 1974"

Levels of processing in word recognition and subsequent free recall

Abstract: The present experiment explored a situation in which 5s were unexpectedly required to recall the target words from a perceptual decision-making task. The targets were denned with respect either to their phonemic or semantic attributes, and 5s held these attributes in "working memory" for varying time intervals prior to target presentation. Semantically defined targets were better recalled subsequently than were phonemically denned targets, although the latter gave rise to longer decision latencies in the initial task. Also, subsequent target recall was not affected by the length of time the target-defining attributes had been held in working memory. These results were discussed within the context of Craik and Lockhart's "levels-of-processing" approach. Craik and Lockhart (1972) described a framework for memory research in which the memory trace is viewed essentially as the by-product of perceptual analyses. Central to their argument is the notion that the stability of the memory trace is a positive function of the type and depth of processing involved in the encoding of perceptual events. Greater depth of processing is denned in terms of the degree of cognitive involvement in carrying out stimulus analyses. Memory is assumed to be tied to a continuum of levels of processing which range, for example, from sensory analyses to the activation of associative semantic attributes. As Craik and Lockhart (1972) suggested, this formulation implies that research should be directed toward determining the memorial consequences of various types of perceptual operations. Craik (in press, Experiments IV and V), for example, reported 2 studies in which 5 was given an initial perceptual decisionmaking task followed by an unexpected memory test. The purpose of the initial decision-making task was to lead 5 to