Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Psychology
Major Professor
Paul Atchley, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Ruthann Atchley, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Brent Small, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Chad Dube, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Kristen Salomon, Ph.D.
Keywords
List-Strength, Recall, Recognition, Replication
Abstract
Memory and attention are intricately intertwined throughout life. How these processes interact and effect the encoding process shows to be just as complex and intricate. A recent study by Sahakyan and Malmberg (2018) revealed that when cognitive resources are strained during encoding, long-established retrieval patterns in both recall and recognition alter. These patterns found were suggested to be the result of an altered mechanism in strengthening processes that eliminated trace strengthening when cognitive resources were strained. This work investigates those claims through a direct replication of the original experiment (Experiment 1) as well as investigating the components of the secondary task used. Experiment 2 and 3 removed the working memory component of the task and taxed attentional components under the assumptions of the Baddeley working memory models (1994, 2003). Experiment 2 focused on the phonological loop by requiring monitoring of tonal or semantic stimuli. Experiment 3 taxed the visuospatial sketchpad by implementing a visual search task. The findings presented do not necessarily rule out the possibility that trace strengthening could stop entirely if enough cognitive strain was induced, but the various secondary tasks tested showed to be not difficult enough to prevent accumulation. The outcomes of this work show a pattern of modulation, that suggests that increasing attentional and working memory load increases trace disruption and reduces usage of inter-item associations. Additionally, the amount of disruption that occurs depends on the type of load that is induced.
Scholar Commons Citation
Olsen, Anne, "Separating Memory and Attention in Secondary Tasks" (2025). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/11377
