Depth of Processing and the Retention of Words

• Method


  1. Participants presented with 60 words

  2. Answer one of three questions

  3. Process words in deep (Semantic) or shallow (Structural and phonemic) ways

  4. Pick out original words from a list of 180
• Deep processing


  • Involves semantic processing
  • Results in more accurate recall
  • Involves elaborative rehearsal
• Shallow processing


  • Involves phonemic and visual processing
  • Results in less accurate recall
• Types of processing questions

  • Structural/visual processing: ‘Is the word in capital letters or small letters?’
  • Phonemic/auditory processing: ‘Does the word rhyme with?’
  • Semantic processing: ‘Does the word go in this sentence?’
• This explanation of memory is useful for everyday life
• Elaboration, which requires deeper processing of information, can aid memory
• Examples of elaboration techniques

  • Reworking: putting information in your own words or talking about it with someone else
  • Method of Loci: linking items with a familiar place or route
  • Imagery: creating an image of something to remember
• The above examples could all be used to help you at school using semantic processing
• Craik and Tulving’s research supports their level of processing theory
• This explanation of memory is useful in everyday life
• It does not explain how deep processing results in better memories
• Deeper processing takes more effort than shallow processing
• The concept of depth is vague and cannot be observed
• Craik & Tulving’s experiment lacks a degree of ecological validity
• Only word recall is tested in Craik & Tulving’s experiment
• Structural and visual processing might be expected to a higher degree if recalling a picture