Abstract
The qualitative nature of the incidental memory trace produced by perceptual and conceptual processing within a speeded inference task was examined. Performance on recall and auditory recognition tests replicated the general finding that semantic processing leads to better retention of words than does nonsemantic processing. This pattern of results was reversed on a visual recognition test designed to measure the amount of perceptual information remembered. These data suggest that different types of processing result in different aspects of the stimulus being encoded, with conceptual processing resulting primarily in the encoding of semantic information and perceptual processing resulting primarily in the encoding of physical information. Thus, the effectiveness of a particular kind of processing for good memory performance depends on the kind of information being tested.
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Cermak, S., Youtz, C. P., & Onifer , W.Retention of semantic and phonemic features of words. Differential decay or differential interference? Paper presented at the Psychonomic Society Meetings. St. Louis, Missouri, November 1976.
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This research was conducted within the Institute for the Study of Intellectual Behavior, University of Colorado, and is Publication 75 of the institute. The work was supported by Research Grants BNS 72-02084 and BNS 76-81416 from the National Science Foundation.
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McDaniel, M.A., Friedman, A. & Bourne, L.E. Remembering the levels of information in words. Memory & Cognition 6, 156–164 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197441
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197441