The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory.

The authors examined the effects of divided attention (DA) at encoding and retrieval in free recall, cued recall, and recognition memory in 4 experiments. Lists of words or word pairs were presented auditorily and recalled orally; the secondary task was a visual continuous reaction-time (RT) task with manual responses. At encoding, DA was associated with large reductions in memory performance, but small increases in RT; trade-offs between memory and RT were under conscious control. In contrast, DA at retrieval resulted in small or no reductions in memory, but in comparatively larger increases in RT, especially in free recall. Memory performance was sensitive to changes in task emphasis at encoding but not at retrieval. The results are discussed in terms of controlled and automatic processes and speculatively linked to underlying neuropsychological mechanisms. The main purpose of this article is to examine the similarities and differences between encoding and retrieval processes in human memory. At first it seems that the two sets of processes are very similar. This position follows from Tulving's encoding specificity principle, Kolers's views on repetition of operations, and the concept of transfer-appropriate processing. In the same vein, Craik (1983) has suggested that encoding processes are essentially those involved in the perception and comprehension of events, and that retrieval processes represent an attempt to recapitulate these initial processes. In addition, evidence from neuropsychology and neuroscience suggests that the pathways involved in retrieval overlap substantially with those involved in perception and storage of the same type of information. If encoding and retrieval processes are indeed similar, experimental manipulations that affect one set of processes