Abstract
Two experiments provide further information on the effects of divided attention (DA) on encoding and retrieval processes. The first experiment examined the effects of decision and motor difficulty of a concurrent reaction time task. A calibration analysis was used in the second experiment to test the hypothesis that shifting attentional emphasis away from encoding to the secondary task reduces the level of processing the to-be-remembered items receive. Overall, the results confirm and extend the conclusions of Craik, Govoni, Naveh-Benjamin, and Anderson (1996) and Naveh-Benjamin, Craik, Guez, and Dori (1998), by pointing to clear differences between encoding and retrieval processes: Encoding is affected by simultaneous task demands, especially those associated with “central” resources involved in conscious decision making, whereas retrieval is obligatory in that it is largely immune to the effects of simultaneous demands. The results of the calibration analysis suggest that one reason for the poorer memory performance as a result of DA at encoding is a qualitative shift to less deep, elaborative strategies.
Article PDF
References
Anderson, N. D., Craik, F. I. M., &Naveh-Benjamin, M. (1998). The attentional demands of encoding and retrieval in younger and older adults: 1. Evidence from divided attention costs.Psychology & Aging,13, 405–423.
Baddeley, A. [D.], Lewis, V., Eldridge, M., &Thomson, N. (1984). Attention and retrieval from long-term memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,113, 518–540.
Cabeza, R., &Nyberg, L. (1997). Imaging cognition: An empirical review of PET studies with normal subjects.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,9, 1–26.
Craik, F. I. M. (1983). On the transfer of information from temporary to permanent memory.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Series B,302, 341–359.
Craik, F. I. M., Govoni, R., Naveh-Benjamin, M., &Anderson, N. D. (1996). The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,125, 159–180.
Craik, F. I. M., Naveh-Benjamin, M., &Anderson, N. D. (1998). Encoding and retrieval processes: Similarities and differences. In M. A. Conway, C. Cornoldi, & S. E. Gathercole (Eds.),Theories of memory II (pp. 61–86). Hove, U.K.: Psychology Press.
Fernandes, M. A., &Moscovitch, M. (2000). Divided attention and memory: Evidence of substantial interference effects both at retrieval and encoding.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,129, 155–176.
Hick, W. E. (1952). On the rate of gain of information.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,4, 11–26.
Kellogg, R. T., Cocklin, T., &Bourne, L. E., Jr. (1982). Conscious attentional demands of encoding and retrieval from long-term memory.American Journal of Psychology,95, 183–198.
Kolers, P. A. (1973). Remembering operations.Memory & Cognition,1, 347–355.
Mishkin, M., &Appenzeller, T. (1987, June). The anatomy of memory.Scientific American,256(6), 80–89.
Morris, C. D., Bransford, J. D., &Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,16, 519–533.
Murdock, B. B., Jr. (1965). Effects of a subsidiary task on short-term memory.British Journal of Psychology,56, 413–419.
Naveh-Benjamin, M. (1987). Coding of spatial location information: An automatic process?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,13, 595–605.
Naveh-Benjamin, M. (1990). Coding of temporal order information: An automatic process?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,16, 117–126.
Naveh-Benjamin, M., Craik, F. I. M., Guez, J., &Dori, H. (1998). The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory: Further support for an asymmetry.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,24, 1091–1104.
Naveh-Benjamin, M., &Jonides, J. (1986). On the automaticity of frequency coding: Effects of competing task load, encoding strategy, and intention.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,12, 378–386.
Nyberg, L., Cabeza, R., &Tulving, E. (1996). PET studies of encoding and retrieval: The HERA model.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,3, 135–148.
Nyberg, L., Tulving, E., Habib, R., Nilsson, L.-G., Kapur, S., Houle, S., Cabeza, R., &McIntosh, A. R. (1995). Functional brain maps of retrieval mode and recovery of episodic information.Neuro-Report,7, 249–252.
Squire, L. R., Cohen, N. J., &Nadel, L. (1984). The medial temporal region and memory consolidation: A new hypothesis. In E. Weingartner & E. Parker (Eds.),Memory consolidation (pp. 185–210). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Tulving, E. (1983).Elements of episodic memory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wagner, A. D., Poldrack, R. A., Eldridge, L. L., Desmond, J. E., Glover, G. M., &Gabrieli, J. D. E. (1998). Material-specific lateralization of prefrontal activation during episodic encoding and retrieval.NeuroReport,9, 3711–3717.
Welford, A. T. (1976).Skilled performance: Perceptual and motor skills. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported in part by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Extended Grant to the first author and in part by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to the second author.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Naveh-Benjamin, M., Craik, F.I.M., Gavrilescu, D. et al. Asymmetry between encoding and retrieval processes: Evidence from divided attention and a calibration analysis. Memory & Cognition 28, 965–976 (2000). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209344
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209344