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Encoding information for future action: memory for to-be-performed tasks versus memory for to-be-recalled tasks.
A Koriat1, H Ben-Zur, A Nussbaum
1Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Israel.
Memory & Cognition
|November 1, 1990
Summary
Memory for future tasks is better when you expect to perform them, not just recall instructions. This suggests memory encoding benefits from imagining the action itself.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Memory Research
Background:
- Understanding the cognitive representation of future task memory is crucial.
- Previous research suggests subject-performed tasks are better remembered than verbal instructions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the nature of memory representation for future tasks.
- To determine whether memory is better recalled via verbatim instruction or actual performance.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using verbal instructions for minitasks.
- Subjects were tested via verbatim recall or actual performance, with varying advance information about the testing mode.
- Memory performance was compared between recall and perform modes of report.
Main Results:
- Experiments consistently showed superior memory performance in the perform mode of report compared to the recall mode.
- Memory was influenced more by the expected mode of report during encoding than the actual testing mode.
- Expectation of performance during encoding enhanced memory regardless of the final test format.
Conclusions:
- The representation underlying memory for future tasks likely leverages imaginal-enactive properties of envisaged actions.
- Memory encoding processes, rather than retrieval, appear to drive the superiority of performance-based memory.
- Future task memory may not solely rely on verbal representations but incorporates action-oriented information.