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Related Experiment Videos

Attentional limits in memory retrieval

L M Carrier1, H Pashler

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, USA. mcarrier@psy.fsu.edu

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|September 1, 1995
PubMed
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Episodic memory retrieval is not parallel; it shares central processing resources with other cognitive tasks. This finding suggests a central bottleneck impacts both memory and response selection during dual-tasking.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Memory

Background:

  • Cognitive tasks are often assumed to occur in parallel.
  • Previous research has not fully explored the parallel processing capabilities of episodic memory retrieval.
  • Understanding task interference is crucial for cognitive architecture models.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether episodic memory retrieval can occur in parallel with other cognitive processes.
  • To determine if memory retrieval is subject to central processing limitations.
  • To examine the nature of the central bottleneck in dual-task performance.

Main Methods:

  • Employed a psychological refractory period (PRP) design.
  • Participants performed speeded cued recall or yes-no recognition tasks concurrently with an auditory-manual choice reaction task.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Varied stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) between the tasks to measure reaction times.

    • Main Results:

    • Memory task reaction times increased as the SOA decreased.
    • The slowing of memory retrieval was additive with other task variables.
    • Evidence suggests central processes in the choice task delay memory retrieval.

    Conclusions:

    • Episodic memory retrieval is not a fully parallel process.
    • The central bottleneck in dual-tasking includes memory retrieval alongside response selection.
    • Findings support a limited-capacity central processor model of cognition.