The relationship between orienting tasks and the structure of memory traces - evidence from false recognition

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Two experiments in which the pattern of false recognition is examined following incidental learning involving either semantically or non-semantically oriented processing tasks are reported. Experiment 1 demonstrates that more false recognitions were made to semantic as opposed to non-semantic, distractors when the initial orientation was semantic while the reverse was found when initial orientation was non-semantic. Experiment 2 replicates this effect and also shows that false recognition rates to completely unrelated distractors were significantly lower than those made to distractors related to the unspecified dimension in both semantic and non-semantic orienting conditions. The basic assertion of the levels of processing approach was supported by demonstrating that tasks ostensibly addressed to different processing domains give rise to memory traces that differ qualitatively in structure. Orienting tasks do not wholly restrict processing to the dimension specified by their overt demands as suggested by experiment 2. The failure of some earlier studies to demonstrate a clear relationship between initial orienting task and the pattern of false recognition responses is attributed to methodological problems.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: