HUMAN MEMORY The Processing of Information HUMAN MEMORY The Processing of Information GEOFFREY R. LOFTUS ELIZABETH F. LOFTUS University of Washington ~l Routledge ~~ Taylor&Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 1976 by Lawrence ErlbaumAssociates, Inc. Published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 52 VanderbiltAvenue, New York, NY 10017 Rout/edge is an imprint oft he Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright© 1976 by Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Loftus, Geoffrey R Human memory. Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. 1. Memory. 2. Human information processing. I. Loftus, Elizabeth F., 1944- joint author. 11. Title. [DNLM: 1. Memory. BF371 L829h] BF371.L64 153.1 '2 75-20266 ISBN Q-470-54336-1 ISBN 0-470-54337-X pbk. ISBN 13: 978-0-89859-135-4 (pbk) This book is dedicated to the memory of EFL's Father, Dr. Sidney A. Fishman 1913-1975 Contents Preface xi 1 Introduction ...................................................................................1 The Information-Processing Approach 3 A Model of Memory 7 2 Sensory Store.................................................................................11 Iconic Store 12 Echoic Store 19 Type of Information Stores in Sensory Store 21 Transfer of Information from Sensory Store to Short-Term Store 22 Summary 32 3 Short-Term Store...........................................................................34 Rationale for a Dichotomous Memory 34 Forgetting from Short-Term Store 39 Capacity of Short-Term Store 43 Form of Information Stored in Short-Term Store 48 Retrieval of Information from Short-Term Store 51 Summary 55 vii viii contents 4 Long-Term Memory for New Material........................................56 Entry of Information into Long-Term Store: Rehearsal 56 Maintenance Rehearsal versus Elaborative Rehearsal 61 Organization 64 Type of Information in Long-Term Store 70 Forgetting from Long-Term Store 73 Forgetting as Retrieval Failure 78 Retrieval Failure versus Interference Theory: One Possible Test 83 Summary 84 5 Recognition Memory......................................................................85 Types of Recognition Tests 85 Recall versus Recognition: Level of Performance 86 Other Recall-Recognition Differences 91 Theories of Recognition Memory 96 Summary 106 6 Long-Term Memory for Meaningful Material.............................107 Form versus Meaning 108 Reconstructive Processes 113 Summary 118 7 Semantic Memory........................................................................119 Retrieval of Information from Semantic Memory 120 Models of Semantic Memory 124 Semantic Memory: A Final Comment 134 Summary 135 8 Practical Applications..................................................................136 Cognitive Tasks as Diagnostic Tests 136 Education 145 cCOoNnTtEeNnTtSs iixx HHuummaann EEnnggiinneeeerriinngg 115522 LLaaww 115577 SSuummmmaarryy 116633 RReeffeerreenncceess ...........................................................................................................................................1 16644 AAuutthhoorr IInnddeexx 117733 SSuubbjjeecctt IInnddeexx 171777