Effects of divided attention at encoding and retrieval: Further data

Craik, Fergus I. M.; Eftekhari, Eldar; Binns, Malcolm A. · 2018 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/s13421-018-0835-3

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Summary

This study investigates the asymmetry in how divided attention (DA) affects memory performance, specifically why DA during encoding causes substantial memory deficits while DA during retrieval results in much smaller impairments. The authors aim to determine whether retrieval processes are automatic, whether preserved recognition accuracy under DA relies on familiarity rather than recollection, and if deeply encoded items are more vulnerable to retrieval interference. The research comprised two experiments involving undergraduate participants. In Experiment 1, participants encoded words using levels-of-processing (LOP) manipulations (letter, rhyme, or semantic association) under conditions of full attention or DA. Retrieval was tested via recall and recognition under full attention or DA. During DA conditions, participants performed a secondary task requiring the detection of three consecutive odd digits in an auditory stream. Participants also provided Remember/Know (R/K) judgments during recognition to distinguish between recollection-based and familiarity-based decisions. Experiment 2 utilized a continuous reaction time (CRT) task as the secondary concurrent activity to examine trade-offs in response latency between recognition and the secondary task. Experiment 1 confirmed that DA at encoding significantly impaired both recall and recognition, whereas DA at retrieval caused smaller but statistically significant deficits. Crucially, DA did not interact with LOP, indicating that semantically encoded items were not disproportionately vulnerable to retrieval interference. Analysis of R/K judgments revealed that recognition under DA was primarily driven by recollection (Remember judgments) rather than familiarity (Know judgments), contradicting the hypothesis that familiarity sustains performance when attention is divided. Furthermore, performance on the secondary digit task dropped during both encoding and retrieval, demonstrating that retrieval operations consume significant processing resources. Experiment 2 replicated the finding that DA had minimal effects on recognition accuracy but found a lawful linear trade-off in decision latencies; participants compensated for divided attention by increasing response times for recognition decisions, thereby maintaining accuracy. The authors conclude that the relatively small effect of DA on recognition performance is not due to automatic retrieval or reliance on familiarity, but rather to a compensatory increase in decision latency. Retrieval processes are mandatory and resource-demanding, but participants can preserve accuracy by slowing down their responses. This challenges previous notions that retrieval is cost-free or that familiarity mediates recognition under dual-task conditions, suggesting instead that strategic adjustments in processing speed mitigate the impact of divided attention on memory retrieval.

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• dual task performance