ABSTRACT
For most of the history of consumer psychology and advertising, information processing and memory development were observed retrospectively, via obtrusive and introspective questioning methods, and for units of analysis that considered the entire message rather than its component parts. Although researchers have made important strides forward using these methods, our knowledge is incomplete. Observations can only take place in the past tense, as if the only views of the passing landscape could come via looking in a rear view mirror. In addition, these observations only occur when our travelling partner chooses to report something of interest to us. As a further limitation, the observations are almost always of the dominant features of the landscape; details are rarely reported.
