In 1972, Craik and Lockhart developed a theory that
They talked about the theory of levels of processing, which states:
The more a word is processed, the more it is affected by its meaning.
According to our experiment, it is more beneficial to retain the word.
The study involved participants who were asked yes or no questions about word meaning or appearance. Their reaction time was recorded, and they were also tasked with recalling as many words as they could remember. The findings indicated notable variations in both reaction time and word recall.
Dewey Rundus (1971) discovered that the more an item is rehearsed, the greater the likelihood of remembering it. Similarly, Herman Ebbinghaus (1885) concluded that repetition is essential in the process of memorization and learning. To minimize the influence of pre-existing associations with familiar words, Ebbinghaus introduced nonsense syllables – word combinations consisting of two consonants separated by a vowel, which do not exist in the dictionary. Through his experiments with these syllables, Ebbinghaus determined that the frequency of their presentation directly impacts retention.
According to Lundin (1996), there is a correlation between the amount one recalls and their rehearsal. The theory suggests that recall should mirror reaction time in our experiment, indicating that the longer a word is held in memory, the higher the chance of successful recall. While repetition is a crucial element in memory processes, it is not the sole determinant of recall capacity.
In their study, Craik and Watkins (1973) challenged the belief that repetition improves memory. They conducted an experiment to prove that it was not repetition but rather the speed of word presentation that affected memory. The participants were given a list of words and instructed to remember the last word starting with a specific letter while disregarding other words. However, they were later unexpectedly asked to recall all the words from the entire list, not just those associated with the assigned letter. The researchers found no relationship between the number of recalled words and the amount of rehearsal.
The levels of processing theory, developed by Craik and Lockhart (1972), suggests that the better a word is processed, the more it is influenced by its meaning.
The retention of the word is crucial, regardless of the duration of exposure to stimuli. However, stimuli with meaningful content undergo more thorough processing and are ultimately better remembered.
The level of processing theory and Rundus’ theory on repetition have contrasting views. According to Rundus, repeated exposure to a word improves recall. However, Craik and Lockhart’s theory of processing suggests that the number or duration of word presentation doesn’t matter. Instead, considering the meaning of the word helps in easier recall.
The experiment involved ten randomly chosen college students who participated in two different conditions. In each condition, the subjects were asked questions about the meaning and appearance of ten words. A total of twenty answers were collected by asking each question before showing each word.
To conduct our experiment, my partner and I utilized the Aldus Superpaint program and the Mindlab program on a Macintosh computer.
At first, we chose two inquiries to investigate. The initial inquiry revolved around the definition of words, posing the question “Is this alive?” The subsequent query focused on the visual aspect of words, asking “Are there more consonants than vowels?” Following that, we selected ten words for each question and participants were asked to respond with a yes or no. Finding words that could be applicable to both questions proved to be difficult. However, through extensive consideration and research, my partner and I successfully discovered ten words for each question that had some connection.
My partner and I used Mindlab to conduct our experiment. The experiment consisted of twenty trials with two different questions and corresponding word lists. All subjects were given ten appearance words and ten meaning words. Participants had to answer the question displayed on the screen within two seconds by pressing “y” for yes or “n” for no on the keyboard. To ensure fairness, the computer randomly presented these questions so participants couldn’t see them beforehand.
The participants were offered a selection between responding to a question about appearance using ten consecutive appearance words or answering a question about meaning using ten consecutive meaning words. The computer logged the duration it took for the subjects to answer each question.
After testing the initial group of five subjects, my partner and I exchanged the questions for each trial. As a result, the appearance words were now matched with the meaning question, while the meaning words were paired with the appearance question. We had to revisit Mindlab for each trial and adjust the words accordingly. Subsequently, we proceeded to test the following set of five subjects.
Following the question and answer session, all participants were required to complete a lottery ticket. Each participant automatically entered a raffle. After finishing their ticket, which typically took approximately 30 seconds, we instructed them to record on paper the number of words they could recall from the experiment.
Statistically significant response times were observed for both words with meaning (1.3 seconds) and words based on appearance (2.2 seconds).
There was a significant difference in the number of words remembered for meaning and appearance. The mean for meaning was 4.0, while the mean for appearance was 0.6 (t[7]=3.9, p<.01). Furthermore, there was a significant disparity in word recall between the two sets of words overall (t[7]=6.8, p<.001).
Contrary to the rehearsal theory, the findings revealed that appearance words took longer for reaction time and were less likely to be remembered compared to meaning words. These results demonstrate that words processed based on their meaning were actually remembered more frequently. Rundus (1971), however, would have disagreed with these findings, suggesting that more appearance words should have been recalled due to longer exposure time.
Levels of Processing and Memory, 8
References:
The study on levels of processing was conducted by Craik, F. & Lockhart, G. (1972).
A framework for the study of memory research is presented in the Journal of Verbal.
The reference for the publication is Learning and Verbal Behavior, volume 11, pages 671-684.
The importance of rehearsal in cognitive processes was investigated by Craik, F. & Watkins, M. (1973).The phrase “short term memory.” is an excerpt from the Journal of Verbal Learning and.
Verbal Behavior, 12, 599-607.
Linden, R. authored the book “Theories and Systems of Psychology” in 1996.
The book titled “Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company” was authored by the same company.
Rundus, D. (1971). An examination of the rehearsal processes in a non-restricted setting.
Remember. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 89, 63-77.
