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Related Experiment Videos

An asymmetry between memory encoding and retrieval. Revelation, generation, and transfer-appropriate processing.

Neil W Mulligan1, Jeffrey P Lozito

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 27599-3270, USA. nmulligan@unc.edu

Psychological Science
|December 24, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Solving anagrams during memory encoding improves recall, but solving them during retrieval impairs it. This reversed dissociation challenges transfer-appropriate-processing theories of memory.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Memory Research

Background:

  • Transfer-appropriate-processing (TAP) theory posits encoding and retrieval processes should be similar.
  • Experimental manipulations are expected to affect both encoding and retrieval similarly.
  • Existing exceptions, like those from divided attention or substance use, are often debated single dissociations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate exceptions to the TAP theory.
  • To demonstrate a reversed dissociation between encoding and retrieval processes.
  • To examine how manipulating processing at encoding versus retrieval affects memory accuracy.

Main Methods:

  • Participants either solved anagrams or read intact words at encoding.
  • Participants then solved anagrams or read intact words at retrieval before making recognition judgments.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Two experiments utilized old/new decisions and confidence ratings to assess memory.

    • Main Results:

    • Solving anagrams at encoding enhanced subsequent recognition memory accuracy.
    • Solving anagrams at retrieval impaired subsequent recognition memory accuracy.
    • These opposite effects of anagram solving at encoding versus retrieval constitute a reversed dissociation.

    Conclusions:

    • The findings challenge the strict interpretation of transfer-appropriate-processing theory.
    • The study provides evidence for distinct effects of processing at encoding and retrieval.
    • This reversed dissociation offers new insights into the flexibility of memory processes.