Varying retrieval conditions to study survival processing

The survival processing advantage is a mnemonic benefit resulting from processing items for their relevance to survival. One explanation of the survival processing advantage is the richness-of-encoding hypothesis: Survival processing enhances retention by generating ideas (elaborative and distinctive processing), increasing the number of retrieval cues. Without retrieval, encoding is futile. Hence, the present experiments varied retrieval conditions - via transfer appropriate processing (TAP) tasks - predicting that the survival processing advantage could be reversed. In Experiment 1a, reducing the transfer appropriateness of survival processing caused significantly lower recognition scores after survival processing than after processing of word associates. Experiment 1b replicated a survival processing advantage and found a survival processing disadvantage. In Experiment 2, survival processing was pitted against a gift desirability task and retrieval mode was varied. Survival processing yielded superior memory on a standard free recall test, but the survival processing advantage was eliminated when an unusual retrieval mode was encouraged. Results affirm the importance of context-dependent retrieval.