John L. Santa

Encoding specificity: Fact or artifact

Two experiments are reported which examined the concept of encoding specificity. The encoding specificity principle suggests that subjects can retrieve information from memory only via cues encoded for retrieval at the time of study. Contrary to the encoding specificity hypothesis both experiments suggested that subjects are able to make use of semantic cues which were not likely to have been encoded at time of study. Contrasts of recognition and recall were also examined. Several theoretical problems were noted in such comparisons, and it was concluded that differences between recall and recognition provide no measure of support for encoding specificity.

Context, integration, and retrieval.

Three experiments examined the effectiveness of external retrieval cues when encoding context varied with respect to the integration of the representation. In all three experiments, it was found that nonencoded cues led to greater improvement if the initial representation was not well integrated. Strong-associate cues led to more improvement when encoding context consisted of weak-associate pairs than when the pairs were embedded in sentences (Experiment 1). The cues were more effective when subjects studied a list of words without instructions than when they were instructed to form images integrating the list members (Experiment 2). The third experiment demonstrated that well integrated material takes longer to access, and a control experiment argued against an encoding interpretation of the data. The results demonstrated both a flexibility of retrieval and a restriction from context, such that the better the representation, the harder it is to retrieve using external retrieval cues.

Where does the confusion lief: Comments on the Wiseman and Tulving paper

Abstract The Wiseman and Tulving paper is criticized on both methodological and theoretical grounds. First, we argue that their paper does not meet the primary criticisms of encoding specificity raised in the Santa and Lamwers (1974) paper. A number of difficulties in their paradigm are then noted, followed by a general critique of recall-recognition contrasts. Finally, we conclude that the Wiseman and Tulving data have no relevance either to the principle of encoding specificity or to two-stage models of recall.

Units of word recognition: Evidence for the use of multiple units

The present experiments were concerned with subsyllabic units in word recognition. The studies employed a same-different RT task. A one-syllable word and a probe were presented simultaneously, and subjects responded “same” if the probe was an integral subset of the word (BLAST:BL), and “different” otherwise (BLAST:BC). Probes included single letters (BLAST:L), doublets (BLAST:LA), triplets (BLAST:LAS), and the whole word (BLAST: BLAST). The first experiment suggested that a variety of spelling patterns, as well as the whole word, served as units of processing. In particular, initial consonant clusters were processed as quickly as single letters, and only slightly faster than the whole words. Consonant strings were used in the second experiment, which demonstrated spelling pattern effects with permissible strings (BLGST:BL) as compared to nonpermissable strings (BXJPK:BX). A third experiment demonstrated that the particular effective units depend on task demands.

Semantic integration and context

Context effects in recognition memory were examined by manipulating the semantic integration of sentential contexts. Subjects studied words embedded in congruous, incongruous, and anomalous sentences and were tested for recognition of the targets in either the same or changed contexts. Recognition was impaired if the test item appeared in a new sentence, and the extent of the decrement was greatest for congrous sentences. The results suggest that consistence with past experience affects the integration of the representation, and that the stronger the integration, the more difficult it is to recognize the target in a new context. The data are discussed in terms of a relative specificity of encoding effect.

Mnemonic Systems in Free Recall

A variety of mnemonic instructions were compared in a final recall of 6 lists of 10 words each. Various types of imagery instruction were contrasted with verbal mnemonic techniques on both abstract and concrete words. None of the instructions influenced recall of abstract word lists. On concrete lists both imagery and story construction instructions led to improved recall. An analysis of clustering indicated a significant degree of organization on the basis of E-contrived lists which was directly related to recall performance. The several “peg-word” techniques did not produce strong recall effects even on concrete word lists. A possible explanation was offered in terms of potential conflict of retrieval strategies for the “peg-word” conditions. Arguments implicate imagery in all effective mnemonic techniques.

Effects of Notetaking and Studying on the Retention of Prose.

College students, equally divided between good and poor readers used one of five study-notetaking strategies for retaining prose information. Students just read, or read and took either restricted or unlimited notes on a passage. After reading, subjects directly or mentally reviewed their notes before taking a recognition and recall examination. Recall and recognition performance was measured immediately and one week later. None of the notetaking-study strategies helped for the recognition test or for the recall of main ideas, but the various strategies led to considerable differences in performance on a general recall test of detailed ideas.

A microprocessor reaction time laboratory

The hardware and software required to implement a multiple-subject microprocessor-based laboratory are described. A basic stimulus-probe reaction time paradigm encompasses a wide range of cognitive psychology experiments and requires little or no sophistication to use.

Linguistic influences on visual memory

The Whorf-Sapir hypothesis has raised considerable controversy in the literatures of psychology and anthropology. Several misconceptions of the hypothesis are reviewed, and the hypothesis was experimentally supported in a visual reproduction paradigm. Subjects were first given label training for a set of figures, and were then asked to recall by drawing the shapes. Training with categorized labels resulted in a 25% improvement in recall when compared to a condition with nonword (paralog) labels. Even stronger evidence of linguistic influence on visual memory was obtained by examining the order of recall. The conceptual relationships among labels strongly influenced the sequence of reproductions.

Verbal coding and redintegrative memory for shapes.

Four experiments examined the effect of label training on redintegrative memory for novel shapes (remembering the whole shape when only a part is presented). Redintegrative memory was markedly better when subjects were trained with names as compared to unnamed control conditions. The first two experiments demonstrated that the effect of labeling was even stronger when subjects were required to use the labels during the transfer test. This result suggests that the naming effect is not due to attentional differences during training. The last two experiments explored the quality of the assigned labels and the relationship of the label to the visual stimulus. There was a slightly greater effect of relevant meaningful labels on redintegrative memory, but in general all types of names (relevant, irrelevant, and paralog) were facilitative. The experiments suggest that a verbal code can exert a strong influence in tasks that require the integration and retrieval of visual information.