Jeffery J. Franks

Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing

Levels of processing were manipulated as a function of acquisition task and type of recognition test in three experiments. Experiment 1 showed that semantic acquisition was superior to rhyme acquisition given a standard recognition test, whereas rhyme acquisition was superior to semantic acquisition given a rhyming recognition test. The former finding supports, while the latter finding contradicts, the levels of processing claim that depth of processing leads to stronger memory traces. Experiment 2 replicated these findings using both immediate and delayed recognition tests. Experiment 3 indicated that these effects were not dependent upon the number of times a rhyme sound was presented during acquisition. Results are interpreted in terms of an alternate framework involving transfer appropriate processing.

Sentence memory: A constructive versus interpretive approach ☆ ☆☆

Abstract The present studies investigated the adequacy of an interpretive linguistic approach to the description of the knowledge communicated by sentences by asking whether sentence retention was primarily a function of memory for the semantically interpreted deep structural relations underlying the input sentences or a function of memory for the overall semantic situations that such sentences described. Results were shown to be primarily a function of memory for the semantic situations. A constructive approach to sentence memory was outlined that dealt with memory for individual sentences as well as memory for sets of semantically related sentences contributing to the same overall idea.

Comprehension and semantic flexibility

Four studies of cued recall produced evidence that interpretation of familiar, unambiguous words varied with their sentential contexts. Each recall cue mentioned some property of a target words referent, a property which was not explicitly identified during input. Cues were more effective when the properties were relevant, rather than irrelevant, to the events described by corresponding acquisition sentences. The research raised considerations pertinent to theories of semantic encoding, to semantic theories in linguistics, and to the role of normative data in psycholinguistic theories of comprehension.

Constraints on access in a problem solving context.

The effects of previously acquired information on a later problem solving task were explored. Prior research has shown that the acquisition of potentially relevant information is not effective for cuing solutions in a later problem solving task unless subjects are informed of the connection. The present research extends these results and demonstrates that the problem solving failure is not due to subjects’ rejecting the potentially relevant information following retrieval. Rather, the apparent failure to appropriately use previous information is a result of uninformed subjects’ inability to spontaneously access such information. Furthermore, the observed access failure is not reversible by simply informing the subjects of the task connection prior to a second trial. Finally, the results indicate that problem solving failure on a later informed trial is a problem-specific phenomenon that does not generalize to new problems. The implications for contemporary episodic memory paradigms and the role of access in learning theory are discussed.

The abstraction of linguistic ideas: A review

Abstract The present paper investigates the status of the individual sentence. Is the sentence the unit of memory, or is it primarily a unit for communicating ideas? A series of studies is presented demonstrating that Ss do not simply retain information expressed by individual input sentences. Instead Ss spontaneously integrate information communicated by sets of semantically related (and often non-consecutively presented) acquisition sentences to construct more wholistic semantic descriptions. These wholistic descriptions may contain more information than any particular input sentence expressed. Memory is primarily a function of these wholistic structures. Ss will recognize and recall many sentences never presented during acquisition but which are derivable from the semantic structures acquired. However, Ss will rarely recall or recognize information that represents a distortion of these integrated ideas. Semantic integration is investigated in a variety of experimental conditions. It is shown to occur within the context of specially designed ‘integration paradigms’ as well as in prose passages, and it is shown to occur for a wide variety of acquisition tasks. Some models attempting to account for the data are evaluated, and implications are discussed.

Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP)

Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP), as applied to implicit memory, has tended to emphasize general forms of processing (e.g.,perceptual or conceptual processing). In the present studies, the TAP principle was employed in a more specific manner in order to more precisely assess the relations between the processing engaged during first exposure and that engaged during second exposure to items. Thirteen experiments used a two-phase, cross-task design in which participants engaged in different combinations of seven specific intentional tasks between Phase 1 and Phase 2. Maximum repetition priming was found when tasks were the same in Phases 1 and 2. When Phase 1 and Phase 2 tasks differed, there were lesser, or no, repetition priming effects, depending on the particular combination of tasks. The results demonstrate the importance of the specific intentional processes engaged during repetition priming and the potential heuristic value of TAP, as a principle and methodology, for exploring the organization of memory and related process models.

Effort toward comprehension: Elaboration or “aha”?

Auble and Franks (1978) found that a process termed “effort toward comprehension” was important in facilitating recall of sentences. Four experiments were conducted to further elucidate the nature of this process. Two hypotheses were considered: (1)Effort toward comprehension involves greater elaboration or deeper processing of the sentence; (2)effort toward comprehension can be viewed as an “aha” experience (i.e., a state of noncomprehension followed by comprehension of the sentence). Results indicated that recall was significantly greater for subjects in conditions producing “aha” reactions. No support was found for the elaboration interpretation of effort toward comprehension.

Memory access: the effects of fact-oriented versus problem-oriented acquisition.

This study examined the effects of similarity between the processing of acquisition and the processing of test materials on performance in a problem solving task. Previous work by Perfetto, Bransford, and Franks (1983) demonstrated that uninformed subjects’ failure to utilize relevant acquisition information in a later problem solving task is the result of a failure to spontaneously access such information. The present study demonstrated that spontaneous access can be enhanced when both acquisition and test materials are processed in a similar manner, that is, in a problem-oriented manner. Furthermore, the present findings indicate that the processing similarity leading to enhanced access is specific to particular acquisition and test items, rather than a general problem solving set induced at acquisition and the subsequent testing situation. Results are interpreted within a transfer-appropriate processing perspective.

The effects of effort toward comprehension on recall.

Four experiments examined free recall of generally incomprehensible sentences with appropriate cues that made the sentences comprehensible. A distinction is made between processes involved in an effort toward comprehension and elaboration processes that occur following comprehension. It was found that providing additional time for effort toward comprehension enhanced recall, while providing additional time for elaboration following comprehension did not enhance recall. It was also shown that the effects of effort toward comprehension were contingent upon eventual understanding of the sentence.

The acquisition of abstract ideas

Bransford and Franks (1971) demonstrated that when Ss are presented with a set of sentences each expressing only part of the meaning of a complete idea, Ss integrated the partial information, stored the complete idea in memory, and later recognition responses were a function of this stored idea. The sentences used in this study expressed concrete ideas. Begg and Paivio (1970) report results that suggest concrete sentences may be stored differently from abstract sentences. The present study used abstract sentences and replicated the findings of Bransford and Franks indicating these earlier results were not solely a function of the concreteness of the sentences and that the storage of abstract and concrete sentences have many common properties.