There is converging evidence that the feeling of conscious recollection is usually accompanied by the bound retrieval of context features of the encoding episode (e.g., Meiser, Sattler, & Weiber, 2008). Recently, however, important limiting conditions have been identified for the binding between context features in memory. For example, focusing on…

Research from the adaptive memory framework shows that thinking about words in terms of their survival value in an incidental learning task enhances their free recall relative to other semantic encoding strategies and intentional learning (Nairne, Pandeirada, & Thompson, 2008). We found similar results. When participants used incidental…

The existence of handedness differences in the retrieval of episodic memories is well-documented, but virtually all have been obtained under conditions of intentional learning. Two experiments are reported that extend the presence of such handedness differences to memory retrieval under conditions of incidental learning. Experiment 1 used Craik…

Preschoolers' recall and clustering of organized lists of pictures were examined either under deliberate instructions to remember or in incidental learning situations. It was concluded that the activity of the children determines depth of processing and subsequent retention, not the intent to remember. (JMB)

Memory automaticity for spatial location was evaluated with 14 mildly retarded adults and 14 nonretarded adults under two instructional conditions: intentional or incidental. Intention to encode spatial location had no effect on recall for either group and retarded and nonretarded subjects did not differ in recall of spatial location. (Author/DB)

The results suggest that coding for storage in the short-term memory is effective when learning occurs under incidental conditions; however, long-term storage appears to be significantly affected by the intention to learn and the foreknowledge of a recall test. (MM)

Contrasts sequential and relational processing manipulations of passages with manipulations which focus on individual lexical items and the propositions in which they are embedded. Finds recall to be superior when readers use sequential and relational processing during performance of individual item-specific lexical processing. (RS)

Comparison for memory for spatial location of 30 persons with and 30 persons without mental retardation found the control group recalled more intentionally learned than incidentally learned locations. The experimental group performed better after incidental learning than after intentional learning and scored as highly as controls on incidental…

This article reports an error concerning the article "Directed Forgetting in Incidental Learning and Recognition Testing: Support for a Two-Factor Account" by Lili Sahakyan and Peter F. Delaney ("Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition," Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 789-801). The article was misidentified in the July issue as an…

When 40 organically mentally retarded, 33 familial retarded, and 35 nonretarded school-age children were compared on 2 tasks of intentional memory, with mental age being covaried, the nonretarded children performed best, followed by the familial group. The 3 groups did not differ on a task of incidental learning. (Author/JDD)

Effect of instructional conditions on the nature of memory errors was studied using a false recognition procedure. (Authors)

Subjects received either specific or general objectives before or after the four sections of the audiotaped lecture. A control group received no objectives. Results on the use of objectives with written text showed that the before position increased intentional learning more than the after position. Incidental learning was significantly higher…

This paper reports three experiments concerning methodological issues in studies on incidental learning performance which use verbal and nonverbal procedures and which appear to be hampered by differences in stimulus materials, learning opportunities, and dependent measures. The first study, using 128 children from grades 3, 5, 7, and 9, attempted…

Undergraduates were induced to expect a recall or recognition test and then to remember a critical list consisting of both high-frequency and low-frequency words. Groups received either an expected or unexpected recall or recognition test. People expecting recall did better, especially with high-frequency words. (Author/RD)

Four separate experiments were completed using the same stimulus materials but different groups of subjects to determine if orienting tasks created problems of control in incidental/intentional learning studies. Subjects were all Caucasians and heterogeneous in age (from 24 to 64 years), educational experiences, and career choices. Those in the…