Levels Of

Processing
Structural, Phonological, Semantic

Craik and Lockhart (1972)

Proposed an alternative to structural

models of memory, focussing instead on
memory processes. They suggested that
information can be processed at different
levels, and that the way in which memory is
processed can affect the likelihood of it
being retrieved in the future.

Depth of encoding

Depending on what we do with information at the

time of encoding, processing can be shallow and
superficial, or deeper and more meaningful. Craik
and Lockhart argued that deeper levels of
processing result in more long lasting and more
retrievable memories, whereas shallow levels of
processing result in memories that are less longlasting and less likely to be retrieved.

Tasks that require different levels of

processing.
BOY
Structural: Is this word in capital letters?
Phonological: Does this word rhyme with
Toy?
Semantic: Does this word fit in the following
sentence? The ______ ran ahead of the
group.

Tasks explained

In the first task it is simply necessary to process

the word structurally, scanning the word visually.
To complete the second task it is necessary to
carry out sound based processing, mentally
sounding out the word. To complete the third task
it is necessary to think about the meaning of the
word and relating it to the rest of the sentence, or
put it into a meaningful category.

Tasks explained continued

Craik and Lockharts theory would predict

that words which are processed for
meaning (deep processing) will be
remembered better than words processed
for sound (intermediate processing) which
in turn will be recalled better than words
which are processed for superficial
characteristics such as shape, size or
colour (shallow processing).

Study
Aim
Craik and Tulving (1975) investigated the effects of
different types of processing on the recall of
words.
Method
Participants were shown 60 words, one at a time,
and for each word they had to answer one of
three questions. These questions were the same
as shown earlier in this PPT.

Method continued.
Participants heard each question and then
were shown the corresponding word for a
brief period. Participants then answered the
question. When the 60 questions had been
answered, participants were given a
recognition test. They were shown a list of
180 words and had to pick out the original
60 words.

Results
Approximately 17% of words in the visual question
condition were correctly recognised. 37% in the
auditory question condition, and 65% in the
semantic question condition.
Conclusion
The findings confirmed Craik and Lockharts theory
about depth of processing: that the type of
processing which takes place when information is
encoded affects later recall.

Types of research

This is referred to as an incidental learning

technique task because the participants did not
know that they would be required to recall the
original words at the end of the procedure.
Although they emphasise process rather than
structure, Craik and Lockhart do assume the
existence of separate STM and LTM systems.
However, they see the function of STM in terms of
the processes it carries out.

Evaluation

Craik and Lockharts (1972) theory provided

a realistic and credible alternative to the
structural approach to memory.
They emphasised how processes which
occur during learning affect the extent to
which material can be retrieved from LTM
(Medin et al, 2001)

Evaluation

The theory would explain why some things, for

example deeply significant and meaningful
events, can be readily remembered without
rehearsal.
The theory also explains why elaborative
rehearsal is more effective than maintenance or
auditory (Craik and Watkins, 1973). Elaborative
rehearsal involves elaboration of the material to
be recalled, perhaps by weaving a list of words
into a story.

Evaluation

Maintenance or rote rehearsal is simply repeating

the information over and over. Since elaborative
rehearsal involves thinking about the meaning of
the material, it is a deeper level of processing and
therefore leads to better recall. Elaborative
rehearsal can add all kinds of extra images,
associations and memories to enrich the material
which has to be learned, resulting in better recall
(Matlin, 2002). Contrast this with the MSM view of
rehearsal as simple verbal repitition.

Evaluation

A key problem for the theory concerned is the way

in which depth of processing was measured.
There was no independent way of assessing
whether processing was deep or shallow.
Determining this relied on a circular definition
which argued that if recall was good, then deep
processing must have taken place, and if recall
was poor, then the processing must have been
shallow. However, just because participants were
asked to say whether or not a word was in capital
letters, it should not be assumed that they did not
engage in further deeper processing.

Evaluation

Lockhart and Craik (1990) have updated their

model in response to criticisms and recent
research findings. The basic ideas remain the
same, but they accept that their original model
was rather oversimplified, and agree that they had
not considered retrieval processes in sufficient
detail. In addition, Lockhart and Craik (1990)
accepted that in some cases shallow processing
does not lead to rapid forgetting.