The relationship between repetition and depth of processing

Abstract

The relationship between depth of information processing and stimulus repetitions was investigated using a simultaneous category judgment task. Several levels of processing were defined involving (1) physically identical items, (2) physically different but same-name items, (3) different items from the same semantic category, and (4) items from different categories. Stimulus pairs were represented by words and pictures, and each pair was presented one, three, or five times. Response times for categorization judgments increased with the level of processing and decreased with repetitions. Repetitions produced greater facilitation for decisions at deeper levels of processing. In a final incidental recall task, more items were remembered from category-same trials than from same-item trials, but level of processing did not interact with number of presentations. Repetitions produced an equivalent increase in final recall probability for items involved in all decision types, indicating that distributed repetitions can lead to the formation of stronger memory traces at several levels of processing.