Abstract
Attentional state during acquisition is an important determinant of performance on direct memory tests. In two experiments we investigated the effects of dividing attention during acquisition on conceptually driven and data-driven indirect memory tests. Subjects read a list of words with or without distraction. Memory for the words was later tested with an indirect memory test or a direct memory test that differed only in task instructions. In Experiment 1, the indirect test was categoryexemplar production (a conceptually driven task) and the direct test was category-cued recall. In Experiment 2, the indirect test was word-fragment completion (a data-driven task) and the direct test was word-fragment cued recall. Dividing attention at encoding decreased performance on both direct memory tests. Of the indirect tests, category-exemplar production but not word-fragment completion was affected. The results indicate that conceptually driven indirect memory tests, like direct memory tests, are affected by divided attention, whereas data-driven indirect tests are not. These results are interpreted within the transfer-appropriate processing framework.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baddeley, A., Lewis, V., Eldridge, M., &Thompson, N. (1984). Attention and retrieval from long-term memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,113, 518–540.
Battig, W. F., & Montague, W. E. (1969). Category norms for verbal items in 56 categories: A replication and extension of the Connecticut category norms.Journal of Experimental Psychology Monographs,80(3, Pt. 2).
Besson, M., Fischler, I., Boaz, T., &Raney, G. (1992). Effects of automatic associative activation on explicit and implicit memory tests.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,18, 89–105.
Blaxton, T. A. (1989). Investigating dissociations among memory measures: Support for a transfer-appropriate processing framework.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,15, 657–668.
Blaxton, T. A. (1992). Dissociations among memory measures in memory-impaired subjects: Evidence for a processing account of memory.Memory & Cognition,20, 549–562.
Bornstein, R. F., Leone, D. R., &Galley, D. J. (1987). The generalizability of subliminal mere exposure effects: Influences of stimuli perceived without awareness.Journal of Personality & Social Psychology,53, 1070–1079.
Cermak, L. S. (1993). Automatic versus controlled processing and the implicit task performance of amnesic patients. In P. Graf & M. E. J. Masson (Eds.),Implicit memory: New directions in cognition, development, and neuropsychology (pp. 287–301). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Challis, B. H., &Brodbeck, D. R. (1992). Levels of processing affects priming in word fragment completion.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,18, 595–607.
Cherry, C. (1953). Some experiments on the recognition of speech with one and with two ears.Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,25, 975–979.
Craik, F. I. M. (1982). Selective changes in encoding as a function of reduced processing capacity. In F. Klix, J. Hoffman, & E. van der Meer (Eds.),Cognitive research in psychology (pp. 152–161). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Craik, F. I. M. (1983). On the transfer of information from temporary to permanent memory.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Series B,302, 341–359.
Craik, F. I. M. (1994). Memory changes in normal aging.Current Directions in Psychological Science,3, 155–158.
Craik, F. I. M., &Byrd, M. (1982). Aging and cognitive deficits: The role of attentional resources. In F. I. M. Craik & S. E. Trehub (Eds.),Aging and cognitive processes (pp. 191–211). New York: Plenum.
Craik, F. I. M., Moscovitch, M., &McDowd, J. M. (1994). Contributions of surface and conceptual information to performance on implicit and explicit memory tasks.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,20, 864–875.
Eich, E. (1984). Memory for unattended events: Remembering with and without awareness.Memory & Cognition,12, 105–111.
Fisk, A. D., &Schneider, W. (1984). Memory as a function of attention, level of processing, and automatization.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,10, 181–197.
Gabrieli, J. D. E., Stone, M. V., Shackleton, K., Thompson-Schill, S. L., Ladd, S. L., Vaidya, C. J., & Chari, A. (1995). Attention and implicit memory for words. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Gellatly, A., Parker, A., Blurton, A., &Woods, C. (1994). Word stem and word fragment completion following semantic activation and elaboration.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,20, 1099–1107.
Graf, P., &Mandler, G. (1984). Activation makes words more accessible, but not necessarily more retrievable.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,23, 553–568.
Graf, P., Mandler, G., &Haden, P. (1982). Simulating amnesic symptoms in normal subjects.Science,218, 1243–1244.
Graf, P., Shimamura, A., &Squire, L. (1985). Priming across modalities and priming across category levels: Extending the domain of preserved functions in amnesia.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,11, 386–396.
Hamman, S. B. (1990). Level-of-processing effects in conceptually driven implicit tasks.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,16, 970–977.
Hasher, L., &Zacks, R. T. (1979). Automatic and effortful processes in memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,108, 356–386.
Hawley, K. J., &Johnston, W. A. (1991). Long-term perceptual memory for briefly exposed words as a function of awareness and attention.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,17, 807–815.
Hayman, C. A. G., &Jacoby, L. L. (1989). Specific word transfer as a measure of processing in the word-superiority paradigm.Memory & Cognition,17, 125–133.
Jacoby, L. L. (1983). Remembering the data: Analyzing interactive processes in reading.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,22, 485–508.
Jacoby, L. L. (1991). A process dissociation framework: Separating automatic from intentional uses of memory.Journal of Memory & Language,30, 513–541.
Jacoby, L. L., &Brooks, L. R. (1984). Nonanalytic cognition: Memory, perception, and concept learning. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 18, pp. 1–43). New York: Academic Press.
Jacoby, L. L., &Dallas, M. (1981). On the relationship between autobiographical memory and perceptual learning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,110, 306–340.
Jacoby, L. L., Toth, J. P., &Yonelinas, A. P. (1993). Separating conscious and unconscious influences of memory: Measuring recollection.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,122, 139–154.
Jacoby, L. L., Woloshyn, V., &Kelley, C. (1989). Becoming famous without being recognized: Unconscious influences of memory produced by divided attention.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,118, 115–125.
Jelicic, M., Bonke, B., Wolters, G., &Phaf, R. H. (1992). Implicit memory for words presented during anaesthesia.European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,4, 71–80.
Jennings, J. M., &Jacoby, L. L. (1993). Automatic versus intentional uses of memory: Aging, attention, and control.Psychology & Aging,8, 283–293.
Koriat, A., &Feuerstein, N. (1976). The recovery of incidentally acquired information.Acta Psychologica,40, 463–474.
Kunst-Wilson, W. R., &Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Affective discrimination of stimuli that cannot be recognized.Science,207, 557–558.
LaVoie, D., &Light, L. L. (1994). Adult age differences in repetition priming: A meta-analysis.Psychology & Aging,9, 539–553.
Light, L. L., &Albertson, S. A. (1989). Direct and indirect tests of memory for category exemplars in young and older adults.Psychology & Aging,4, 487–492.
Light, L. L., &La Voie, D. (1993). Direct and indirect measures of memory in old age. In P. Graf & M. E. J. Masson (Eds.),Implicit memory: New directions in cognition, development, and neuropsychology (pp. 207–230). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
MacKay, D. G. (1973). Aspects of the theory of comprehension, memory and attention.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,25, 22–40.
Mandler, G., Nakamura, Y., &Van Zandt, B. J. S. (1987). Nonspecific effects of exposure on stimuli that cannot be recognized.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,13, 646–648.
McDowd, J. M., &Craik, F. I. M. (1988). Effects of aging and task difficulty on divided attention performance.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,14, 267–280.
Merickle, P., &Reingold, E. (1991). Comparing direct (explicit) and indirect (implicit) measures to study unconscious memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,17, 224–233.
Mitchell, D. B. (1993). Implicit and explicit memory for pictures: Multiple views across the lifespan. In P. Graf & M. E. J. Masson (Eds.),Implicit memory: New directions in cognition, development, and neuropsychology (pp. 171–191). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Moray, N. (1959). Attention in dichotic listening: Affective cues and the influence of instructions.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,11, 56–60.
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.
Mulligan, N. W. (in press). Attention and implicit memory tests: The effects of varying attentional load on conceptual priming.Memory & Cognition.
Mulligan, N. W., &Hirshman, E. (1995). Speed-accuracy tradeoffs and the dual process model of recognition memory.Journal of Memory & Language,34, 1–18.
Murdock, B. B. (1965). Effects of subsidiary task on short-term memory.British Journal of Psychology,56, 413–419.
Neely, J. H. (1989). Experimental dissociations and the episodic/ semantic memory distinction. In H. L. Roediger III & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.),Varieties of memory and consciousness: Essays in honour of Endel Tulving (pp. 229–270). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Norman, D. A. (1969). Memory while shadowing.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,21, 85–93.
Parkin, A. J., Reid, T. K., &Russo, R. (1990). On the differential nature of implicit and explicit memory.Memory & Cognition,18, 507–514.
Parkin, A. J., &Russo, R. (1990). Implicit and explicit memory and the automatic/effortful distinction.European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,2, 71–80.
Rajaram, S., &Roediger, H. L., III (1993). Direct comparison of four implicit memory tests.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,19, 765–776.
Rappold, V. A., &Hashtroudi, S. (1991). Does organization improve priming?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,17, 103–114.
Richardson-Klavehn, A., &Bjork, R. A. (1988). Measures of memory.Annual Review of Psychology,39, 475–543.
Richardson-Klavehn, A., Gardiner, J. M., &Java, R. I. (1994). Involuntary conscious memory and the method of opposition.Memory,2, 1–29.
Roediger, H. L., III (1990). Implicit memory: Retention without remembering.American Psychologist,45, 1043–1056.
Roediger, H. L., III, &Blaxton, T. A. (1987). Retrieval modes produce dissociations in memory for surface information. In D. Gorfein & R. R. Hoffman (Eds.),Memory and cognitive processes: The Ebbinghaus Centennial Conference (pp. 349–379). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Roediger, H. L., III, &McDermott, K. B. (1993). Implicit memory in normal human subjects. In F. Boller & J. Grafman (Eds.),Handbook of neuropsychology (pp. 63–131). Amsterdam: Elsevier, North-Holland.
Roediger, H. L., III,Weldon, M. S., &Challis, B. H. (1989).Explaining dissociations between implicit and explicit memory: A processing account. In H. L. Roediger III & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.),Varieties of memory and consciousness: Essays in honour of Endel Tulving (pp. 3–41). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Roediger, H. L., III,Weldon, M. S., Stadler, M. A., &Riegler, G. H. (1992). Direct comparison of word stems and word fragments in implicit and explicit retention tests.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,18, 1251–1264.
Russo, R., &Parkin, A. J. (1993). Age differences in implicit memory: More apparent than real.Memory & Cognition,21, 73–80.
Salthouse, T. A. (1987). Adult age differences in integrative spatial ability.Psychology & Aging,2, 254–260.
Salthouse, T. A., &Mitchell, D. R. D. (1989). Structural and operational capacities in integrative spatial ability.Psychology & Aging,4, 18–25.
Salthouse, T. A., Mitchell, D. R. D., &Palmon, R. (1989). Memory and age differences in spatial manipulation ability.Psychology & Aging,4, 480–486.
Salthouse, T. A., Mitchell, D. R. D., Skovronek, E., &Babcock, R. L. (1989). Effects of adult age and working memory on reasoning and spatial abilities.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,15, 507–516.
Salthouse, T. A., Rogan, J. D., &Prill, K. (1984). Division of attention: Age differences on a visually presented memory task.Memory & Cognition,12, 613–620.
Schacter, D. L. (1987). Implicit memory: History and current status.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,13, 501–518.
Schacter, D. L. (1992). Priming and multiple memory systems: Perceptual mechanisms of implicit memory.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,4, 244–256.
Schacter, D. L., Bowers, J., &Booker, J. (1989). Intention, awareness, and implicit memory: The retrieval intentionality criterion. In S. Lewandowsky, J. C. Dunn, & K. Kirsner (Eds.),Implicit memory: Theoretical issues (pp. 47–65). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Seamon, J., Brody, N., &Kauff, D. M. (1983). Affective discrimination of stimuli that are not recognized: Effects of shadowing, masking, and cerebral laterality.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,9, 544–555.
Seamon, J., Marsh, R., &Brody, N. (1984). Critical importance of exposure duration for attentive discrimination of stimuli that are not recognized.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,10, 465–469.
Shimamura, A. P. (1986). Priming effects in amnesia: Evidence for a dissociable memory function.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,38A, 619–644.
Shimamura, A. P. (1991). Disorders of memory: The cognitive science perspective. In F. Boller & J. Grafman (Eds.),Handbook of neuropsychology (pp. 35–73). New York: Elsevier.
Shimamura, A. P. (1993). Neuropsychological analysis of implicit memory: History, methodology and theoretical interpretations. In P. Graf & M. E. J. Masson (Eds.),Implicit memory: New directions in cognition, development, and neuropsychology (pp. 265–285). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Smith, M. E., &Oscar-Berman, M. (1990). Repetition priming of words and pseudowords in divided attention and in amnesia.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,16, 1033–1042.
Squire, L. R. (1992). Memory and the hippocampus: A synthesis from findings with rats, monkeys, and humans.Psychological Review,99, 195–231.
Srinivas, K., &Roediger, H. L., III (1990). Classifying implicit memory tests: Category association and anagram solution.Journal of Memory & Language,29, 389–412.
Weldon, M. S. (1991). Mechanisms underlying priming on perceptual tests.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,17, 526–541.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported in part by National Institute on Aging Grant AG10593-01 to M.H. A portion of these results was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Washington, DC, in July 1994.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mulligan, N.W., Hartman, M. Divided attention and indirect memory tests. Mem Cogn 24, 453–465 (1996). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200934
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200934