DIVIDED ATTENTION AND INDIRECT MEMORY TESTS

Attentional state during acquisition is an important determinant of pe rformance on direct memory tests. In two experiments we investigated t he effects of dividing attention during acquisition on conceptually dr iven and data-driven indirect memory tests. Subjects read a list of wo rds with or without distraction. Memory for the words was later tested with an indirect memory test or a direct memory test that differed on ly in task instructions. In Experiment 1, the indirect test was catego ry-exemplar production (a conceptually driven task) and the direct tes t was category-cued recall. In Experiment 2, the indirect test was wor d-fragment completion (a data-driven task) and the direct test was wor d-fragment cued recall. Dividing attention at encoding decreased perfo rmance on both direct memory tests. Of the indirect tests, category-ex emplar production but not word-fragment completion was affected. The r esults indicate that conceptually driven indirect memory tests, like d irect memory tests, are affected by divided attention, whereas data-dr iven indirect tests are not. These results are interpreted within the transfer-appropriate processing framework.