The influence of attention at encoding on direct and indirect remembering

The relation between attention at encoding and direct (i.e., recognition) versus indirect (i.e., rapid reading) remembering was investigated. In Experiments 1 and 2, color of print indicated whether to read an individual word aloud or to ignore it. This attentional manipulation reduced direct but not indirect remembering for the ignored words relative to the attended words. Apparently direct remembering is extremely dependent on attention at encoding. In Experiment 3, however, presenting two words simultaneously at study, with color now signifying which word to read and which to ignore, eliminated this dissociative effect of attention. Ignored words were not remembered on either test, although attended words were remembered well on both. Mere exposure is not sufficient to produce indirect remembering: Stimuli must be attended. Ignoring one stimulus in favor of processing another stimulus that is simultaneously presented and equally salient may prevent even the minimal attentional requirements of indirect remembering from being met, let alone the more stringent requirements of direct remembering.