Intentional Learning Instructions Research Articles

Solving a Mystery in Levels-of-Processing Research: The Word-First Paradigm

Abstract In the standard levels-of-processing (LOP) paradigm, subjects are presented with a question directing them to attend to surface features (case), phonetic features (rhyme), or semantic features (category) of an upcoming word. Answering the question greatly affects recall and recognition for the word, and this outcome is attributed to differing LOP of the word. Craik (1977) reasoned that if the words appeared before the questions (i.e., the word-first paradigm) under intentional learning instructions, the LOP effect would disappear. However, when he conducted experiments using the word-first paradigm, the effect remained. We conducted 2 experiments to try to explain this puzzle. In the first experiment, we replicated Craik’s findings in one condition, and in other conditions we asked subjects to make judgments of learning (JOLs) in an attempt to eliminate the LOP effect because JOLs seem to promote deep processing. However, the LOP effect still occurred, albeit in attenuated form. In Experiment 2, we tested 2 new conditions to overcome and explain the LOP effect in the word-first paradigm. In one case, subjects were instructed to use idiosyncratic study strategies to memorize the word; the second condition required subjects to perform pleasantness judgments on the words. The pleasantness rating condition eliminated the LOP effect, but the first did not. We conclude that in the word-first paradigm, subjects typically keep the word in mind without semantic processing using rote rehearsal, despite intentional learning instructions.

Intact capacity for implicit learning in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background and objectivesIndividuals with OCD tend to rely on explicit processing when performing implicit learning tasks. However, it is unclear whether this tendency reflects impaired capacity for implicit processing or a preference toward explicit processing. We sought to use a psychometrically valid task to examine the hypothesis that individuals with OCD have intact capacity for implicit learning. MethodsTwenty-four participants with OCD and 24 non-psychiatric controls completed a modified artificial grammar learning task where acquisition and retrieval of the underlying grammatical rules are considered strictly implicit. In an exploratory condition designed to examine the effect of nudging participants toward controlled processing, 12 participants in each group were told that the stimuli presented at acquisition were composed according to grammatical rules and were encouraged to identify these rules. ResultsAs predicted, participants with OCD acquired and expressed knowledge of the grammatical rule, demonstrating intact capacity for implicit learning, with no differences found between the OCD and controls on the extent of implicit learning. The exploratory intentional learning instructions had no effect, as participants in this condition were unable to adhere to the instructions, supporting the robust implicit nature of the artificial grammar learning task. LimitationsThe relatively small sample size did not allow comparisons between OCD symptom subtypes. ConclusionsOur results provide evidence for intact implicit learning in OCD, and challenge previous studies suggesting a general deficiency in implicit learning in OCD.

Testing the deficient processing account of the spacing effect in second language vocabulary learning: Evidence from eye tracking

AbstractThe spacing effect refers to the learning benefit that comes from separating repeated study of target items by time or by other items. A prominent proposed explanation for this effect states that repeated exposures that occur closely together may not engage full attentional processing due to residual activation of the previous exposure and also, in an intentional learning context, due to a sense of familiarity that may result in strategic allocation of less study time to an item in massed repetitions. The present study used eye-tracking methodology to investigate the effects of temporal distribution of repeated exposures to novel second language words on attentional processing and learning of these words under intentional learning instructions. Adult native speakers of English read Finnish words embedded in English sentence contexts under massed and spaced conditions. The results showed that (a) massed repeated exposures received less attentional processing than spaced repeated exposures; (b) target words were better remembered in the spaced condition; and (c) attention was a significant mediator of the obtained spacing effect, in line with the predictions of the deficient processing account of the spacing effect. Implications for vocabulary learning are discussed.

Are the effects of divided attention on memory encoding processes due to the disruption of deep-level elaborative processes? Evidence from cued- and free-recall tasks

Abstract Whereas numerous studies have indicated that divided attention (DA) at encoding significantly disrupts later memory for the studied information, the underlying mechanisms of this effect remain unclear. Following from our recent investigation (Naveh-Benjamin, Guez, Hara, Brubaker, & Lowenschuss-Erlich, 2014) that used an item recognition task, in the current study we further assess the degree to which deep-level semantically-elaborative processes are affected under DA. We compared the effects of DA at encoding under incidental and intentional learning instructions on later cued-recall and free recall tasks, which have been shown to benefit from deep-level elaboration during encoding. The results of two experiments, in which participants studied word pairs or lists of words under either full or divided attention, converged in systematically showing that DA at encoding reduced cued-recall and free recall to the same degree under incidental and intentional learning. Furthermore, the detrimental effects of DA on memory were similar regardless of the encoding strategy reported by the participants. The results do not support the suggestion that deep-level effortful elaborative processes are major ones affected by DA and the role of other potential underlying processes is discussed.

Explicit instructions facilitate performance of OCD participants but impair performance of non-OCD participants on a serial reaction time task

Previous studies have shown that individuals diagnosed with OCD tend to rely on explicit processing while performing implicit learning tasks. We sought to investigate whether individuals with OCD are capable of implicit learning, but would demonstrate improved performance when explicit processing strategies are enhanced. Twenty-four participants with OCD and 24 non-psychiatric control (NPC) participants performed an implicit learning task in which they responded to a single target stimulus that successively appears at one of four locations according to an underlying sequence. We manipulated the learning strategy by informing half of the participants that the target stimulus location was determined by an underlying sequence, which they should identify (intentional learning). The other half of the participants was not informed of the existence of the underlying sequence, and was expected to learn the sequence implicitly (standard learning). We predicted that OCD participants will exhibit inferior performance compared to NPC participants in the standard learning condition, and that intentional learning instructions would impair the performance of NPC participants, but enhance the performance of OCD participants. The results supported these predictions and suggest that individuals with OCD prefer controlled to automatic processing. We discuss the implications of this conclusion to our understanding of OCD.

Intelligence moderates the benefits of strategy instructions on memory performance: an adult-lifespan examination

ABSTRACTWhether older adults can compensate for their associative memory deficit by using memory strategies efficiently might depend on their general cognitive abilities. This study examined the moderating role of an IQ estimate on the beneficial effects of strategy instructions. A total of 142 participants (aged 18–85 years) received either intentional learning or strategy (“sentence generation”) instructions during encoding of word pairs. Whereas young adults with a lower IQ benefited from strategy instructions, those with a higher IQ did not, presumably because they already use strategies spontaneously. Older adults showed the opposite effect: following strategy instructions, older adults with a higher IQ showed a strong increase in memory performance (approximately achieving the level of younger adults), whereas older adults with a lower IQ did not, suggesting that they have difficulties implementing the provided strategies. These results highlight the importance of the role of IQ in compensating for the aging-related memory decline.

The Effectiveness of Extensive Reading on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Learning: Incidental versus Intentional Learning

Forty-six students majoring in business English volunteered to take part in an extensive reading program. The learners were divided into two groups: EG, the experimental group, received instruction in methods of extensive reading plus explicit output-pushed activities, and CG, the control group, received instruction in methods of extensive reading only. This study measured the effects of extensive reading on EFL vocabulary learning, as well as the effects of the two different instruction methods on learning receptive and productive vocabulary for the 46 learners of different vocabulary size. The research found that (a) both the two instructional methods resulted in significant gains in learners’ receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge, but the combination of the incidental and intentional learning instruction yields greater vocabulary gains; (b) around 60 % of receptive vocabulary is understood productively; and (c) students’ vocabulary size plays a decisive role in acquiring the receptive and productive aspect of vocabulary knowledge.

The Effects of Divided Attention on Encoding Processes under Incidental and Intentional Learning Instructions: Underlying Mechanisms?

Divided attention (DA) at encoding has been shown to significantly disrupt later memory for the studied information. However, what type of processing gets disrupted during DA remains unresolved. In this study, we assessed the degree to which strategic effortful processes are affected under DA by comparing the effects of DA at encoding under intentional and pure incidental learning instructions. In three experiments, participants studied list of words or word pairs under either full or divided attention. Results of three experiments, which used different methodologies, converged to show that the effects of DA at encoding reduce memory performance to the same degree under incidental and intentional learning. Secondary task performance indicated that encoding under intentional learning instructions was more effortful than under incidental learning instructions. In addition, the results indicated enhanced attention to the initial appearance of the words under both types of learning instructions. Results are interpreted to imply that other processes, rather than only strategic effortful ones, might be affected by DA at encoding.

Semantic encoding enhances the pictorial superiority effect in the oldest-old*

ABSTRACT We examined the effect of a semantic orienting task during encoding on free recall and recognition of simple line drawings and matching words in middle-aged (44–59 years), older (60–89 years), and oldest-old (90+ years) adults. Participants studied line drawings and matching words presented in blocked order. Half of the participants were given a semantic orienting task and the other half received standard intentional learning instructions. Results confirmed that the pictorial superiority effect was greater in magnitude following semantic encoding compared to the control condition. Analyses of clustering in free recall revealed that oldest-old adults' encoding and retrieval strategies were generally similar to the two younger groups. Self-reported strategy use was less frequent among the oldest-old adults. These data strongly suggest that semantic elaboration is an effective compensatory mechanism underlying preserved episodic memory performance that persists well into the ninth decade of life.

Preattentive Processing, Poststimulus Elaboration, and Memory for Emotionally Arousing Stimuli

ABSTRACT Christianson (1992) proposed two mechanisms to explain emotionally enhanced memory: preattentive processing and poststimulus elaboration. Experiment 1 examined these processes by instructing participants to perform (1) a concurrent distractor task, (2) a continuous distractor task, or (3) both while viewing the negatively arousing, positively arousing, and neutral pictures. Recall of negatively arousing pictures showed a small decline in one of the distractor conditions, indicating that elaboration plays a minor role in remembering these pictures. Experiment 2 partially replicated Experiment 1 with an intentional learning instruction to investigate whether participants in Experiment 1 were anticipating a recall test. For all three picture types, recall declined in the continuous distractor task condition, indicating that elaboration played a role, even when the pictures were negatively arousing. Overall, these results were consistent with the notion that remembering negatively valenced stimuli is largely based on preattentive processing with a minor role played by poststimulus elaboration.

How sequence learning creates explicit knowledge: the role of response–stimulus interval

Destrebecqz and Cleeremans (Psychon bull rev 8:343-350, 2001; Attention and implicit learning. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, pp 181-213, 2003) reported that increasing the response-stimulus interval (RSI) during incidental sequence learning improved participants' ability to discriminate old and new sequences in a recognition test. However, the original experimental design confounded RSI effects during training and test. I therefore repeated the experiment with an improved design in which RSI was varied systematically during the training phase and the recognition task. Participants learned a sequence of response locations either incidentally or intentionally. As a result, sequence recognition was not affected by the RSI manipulations in the group of incidental learners. With intentional learning instructions, recognition was unaffected by training RSI, but a long RSI in the test phase improved recognition performance over a short RSI. Response latencies while executing the test sequences indicated no effect of training RSI on sequence learning. However, sequence knowledge was expressed more readily when the RSI in the test phase matched the RSI in the training phase.

The limited benefits of rereading educational texts

Though rereading is a study method commonly used by students, theoretical disagreement exists regarding whether rereading a text significantly enhances the representation and retention of the text’s contents. In four experiments, we evaluated the effectiveness of rereading relative to a single reading in a context paralleling that faced by students in the classroom. Participants read educational texts (textbook chapters or a Scientific American article) under intentional learning instructions. Learning and memory were tested with educationally relevant summative assessments (multiple choice, short-answer questions, and text summaries). With only several exceptions, rereading did not significantly increase performance on the assessments. We also found that reading comprehension ability did not alter this pattern. It appears that when using ecologically valid materials such as a textbook chapter, immediate rereading may have little or no benefit for improving performance on educationally relevant summative assessments.

Differential effects of age on item and associative measures of memory: A meta-analysis.

In this meta-analysis, the authors evaluated recent suggestions that older adults' episodic memory impairments are partially due to a reduced ability to encode and retrieve associated/bound units of information. Results of 90 studies of episodic memory for both item and associative information in 3,197 young and 3,192 older adults provided support for the age-related associative/binding deficit suggestion, indicating a larger effect of age on memory for associative information than for item information. Moderators assessed included the type of associations, encoding instructions, materials, and test format. Results indicated an age-related associative deficit in memory for source, context, temporal order, spatial location, and item pairings, in both verbal and nonverbal material. An age-related associative deficit was quite pronounced under intentional learning instructions but was not clearly evident under incidental learning instructions. Finally, test format was also found to moderate the associative deficit, with older adults showing an associative/binding deficit when item memory was evaluated via recognition tests but not when item memory was evaluated via recall tests, in which case the age-related deficits were similar for item and associative information.

The associative memory deficit of older adults: The role of strategy utilization.

Past research has established an associative deficit hypothesis (e.g., M. Naveh-Benjamin, 2000) that attributes part of older adults' poor episodic memory performance to their difficulty in creating and retrieving cohesive episodes. Here, the authors evaluate the degree to which this deficit can be reduced by older adults' use of associative strategies. Young and older adults learned word pairs under either intentional-learning instructions or instructions eliciting associative strategies either at encoding or both at encoding and at retrieval, and they then took tests on their memory for both the components and the associations. Results replicated the associative deficit of older adults under intentional-learning instructions. In addition, they showed that instructions to use appropriate associative strategies during either encoding or, even more so, during encoding and retrieval resulted in a significant decrease in the associative deficit. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.

The effect of old age on supra-span learning of visuo-spatial sequences under incidental and intentional encoding instructions

Recent findings [Turcotte, Gagnon, & Poirier, 2005. The effect of old age on the learning of supra-span sequences. Psychology and Aging, 20, 251–260.] indicate that incidental learning of visuo-spatial supra-span sequences through immediate serial recall declines with old age (Hebb’s paradigm). In this study, we examined whether strategies induced by awareness of the repeated sequence might explain age differences. Young (18–35 years old) and older (65–80 years old) participants underwent either incidental or intentional learning instructions. Results indicated that older adults demonstrated reduced learning of the repeated sequence under both incidental and intentional instructions. In comparison, young adults showed superior learning of the repeated sequence in both conditions but intentional instructions triggered faster and greater learning in this age group. The results strongly indicated that knowledge of the repeated sequence enhanced learning only in the group of young adults. Older adults were unable to translate the knowledge of the repetition into elaborate strategies that would increase recall of the repeated sequence. Other findings suggest that incidental learning in young adults was mediated by both non-conscious and conscious recollection processes.

Explicit knowledge and intention to learn in sequence learning: an event-related potential study

The present study was performed to examine how intention to learn and explicit knowledge in sequence learning are reflected in event-related potentials. Participants responded to numerals presented in a repeating order, which were replaced infrequently by deviant numerals. The participants were given incidental or intentional learning instructions. Sequence parts for which they acquired explicit knowledge were identified for each participant by post-task memory tests. Reaction times indicated that sequence learning occurred under both types of instruction. The N2 enhancement for deviants was primarily associated with explicit sequence knowledge, and the P3 enhancement showed a weak association. These results suggested that N2 and P3 reflect different aspects of explicit learning.

The facilitating effect of verbalization on the recognition memory of incidentally learned faces

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that requiring people to verbally describe a target face from memory facilitates their subsequent recognition when their memory for the target is poor and interferes with recognition when such memory is strong. In Experiment 1, a target face was presented to participants for 30 s or 100 s under a nominal task instruction, and they incidentally familiarized themselves with it. Verbalization increased the rate of correct recognition only when the target was presented for 30 s and the performance of control participants was poor. In Experiment 2, participants observed a target without instruction for intentional learning or other nominal instruction, in a more ecologically valid context. Recognition performance was poor for control participants and verbalization increased the rate of correct recognition. These results appear to support the hypothesis. The implications for the identification of persons by eyewitnesses are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Limitations to the Spacing Effect

The spacing effect refers to the finding that memory for repeated items improves when the interrepetition interval increases. To explain the spacing effect in free-recall tasks, a two-factor model has been put forward that combines mechanisms of contextual variability and study-phase retrieval (e.g., Raaijmakers, 2003; Verkoeijen, Rikers, & Schmidt, 2004). An important, yet untested, implication of this model is that free recall of repetitions should follow an inverted u-shaped relationship with interrepetition spacing. To demonstrate the suggested relationship an experiment was conducted. Participants studied a word list, consisting of items repeated at different interrepetition intervals, either under incidental or under intentional learn instructions. Subsequently, participants received a free-recall test. The results revealed an inverted u-shaped relationship between free recall and interrepetition spacing in both the incidental-learning condition and the intentional-learning condition. Moreover, for intentionally learned repetitions, the maximum free-recall performance was located at a longer interrepetition interval than for incidentally learned repetitions. These findings are interpreted in terms of the two-factor model of spacing effects in free-recall tasks.

The Development of Explicit Memory for Basic Perceptual Features

In three experiments with 164 individuals between 4 and 80 years old, we examined age-related changes in explicit memory for three perceptual features—item identity, color, and location. In Experiments 1–2, feature recognition was assessed in an incidental learning, gamelike task resembling the game Concentration. In Experiment 3, feature recognition was assessed using a pencil-and-paper task after intentional learning instructions. The form of the explicit memory function across the life span varied with the particular perceptual feature tested and the type of task. Item recognition was excellent at all ages but was significantly poorer for older adults than children, color recognition peaked in late childhood on the gamelike task, and location recognition peaked in early adulthood on the pencil-and-paper task. These findings indicate that performance on explicit memory tests is not a consistent inverted U-shaped function of age across various features. Explicit memory performance depends on what is measured and how. Because explicit memory typically reflects a composite of different features, age-related changes in explicit memory will not necessarily correspond to the function for any single one.

Memory for common and bizarre stimuli: A storage-retrieval analysis

We tested the hypothesis that common stimuli are stored in memory better than bizarre stimuli are. Subjects memorized a series of noun pairs embedded within 20 common or bizarre sentences. By using a between-list design, free and cued recall, and intentional-learning instructions, we were able to obtain a commonness effect (i.e., a recall advantage for the common sentences). Riefer and Rouder’s (1992) multinomial processing-tree model for measuring storage and retrieval was applied to the data, which revealed that the recall advantage for common sentences was due to storage and not retrieval processes. We propose a two-factor theory: that common items are stored better in memory, but that bizarre items are retrieved better from memory. This storage-retrieval explanation does a good job of accounting for a number of findings associated with the bizarreness effect.