The present experiment was designed to investigate the effects of orienting tasks on sentence recall. Three task conditions were included, a phonemic-task, a semantic-task, and a “no-orienting-task” control group. Both immediate and delayed recall were tested. As predicted, subjects in the semantic condition performed significantly better than those given phonemic instructions. On immediate recall, the performance of control subjects was similar to that of semantic subjects but superior to phonemic subjects. When the retention test was delayed, the difference between control and phonemic groups was nonsignificant. The results are not consistent with the depth-of-processing model.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BradleyJ. P.DanielsL. F.JonesT. C. (Eds.) The international dictionary of thoughts. Chicago: Ferguson, 1969.
2.
CraikF. I. M.LockhartR. S.Levels of processing: a framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1972, 11, 671–684.
3.
CraikF. I. M.TulvingE.Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1975, 104, 268–294.
4.
FisherR. P.CraikF. I. M.Interaction between encoding and retrieval operations in cued recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1977, 3, 701–711.
5.
HuntR.MitchellD. B.Specificity in nonsemantic orienting tasks and distinctive memory traces. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1978, 4, 121–135.
6.
JenkinsJ. J.Can we have a theory of meaningful memory? In SolsoR. L. (Ed.), Theories in cognitive psychology: The Loyola Symposium. Potomac, MD: Erlbaum, 1974. Pp. 1–20.
7.
KirkR. E.Experimental design: procedures for the behavioral sciences. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1968.
8.
MasonS. E.Encoding operations and retrieval conditions as factors in memory performance. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, March, 1978.
9.
McDanielM. A.MassonM. E.When incidental semantic processing fails. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1977, 3, 270–281.
10.
Mistler-LachmanJ. L.Depth of comprehension and sentence memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1974, 13, 98–106.
11.
MoscovitchM.CraikF. I. M.Depth of processing, retrieval cues, and uniqueness of encoding as factors in recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1976, 15, 447–458.
12.
NelsonT. O.ViningS. K.Effect of semantic versus structural processing on long-term retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1978, 4, 198–209.
13.
TreismanA.TuxworthJ.Immediate and delayed recall of sentences after perceptual processing at different levels. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1974, 13, 38–44.
