ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some recent experiments on the effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory. The division of attention (DA) in young adults results in memory performance that is very similar quantitatively and qualitatively to that observed in elderly adults working under full attention. The reason for studying the effects of DA on memory was given by Craik, Govoni, Naveh-Benjamin, and Anderson. The chapter explains that encoding and retrieval processes are very similar we might expect to see similar patterns of brain activation. To the extent that encoding and retrieval are similar, it might be expected that further variables would have the same effect on both sets of processes. One major problem with attempts to differentiate encoding and retrieval processes on purely behavioural grounds is that we observe only the final product of the memory test under consideration, as opposed to direct observation of the component processes themselves.
