Exploring the enactment effect from an information processing view: What can we learn from serial position analyses?

Abstract

The focus of the present article was to analyze processes that determine the enactment and age effect in a multi-trial free recall paradigm by looking at the serial position effects. In an experimental study (see Schatz et al 2010), the performance-enhancing effect of enactive encoding and repeated learning was tested with older and younger participants. As expected, there was a steady improvement of memory performance as a function of repeated learning regardless of age. In addition, enactive encoding led to a better memory performance than verbal encoding in both age groups. Furthermore, younger adults outperformed the elderly regardless of type of encoding. Analyses in the present article show that encoding by enacting seems to profit especially from remembering the last items of a presented list. Regarding age differences, younger outperformed older participants in nearly all item positions. The performance enhancement after task repetition is due to a higher amount of recalled items in the middle positions in a subject performed task (SPT) and a verbal task (VT) as well as the last positions of a learned list in VT.

The Effects of Language and Semantic Repetition on the Enactment Effect of Action Memory

“…In this line, our findings also support that SPT learning is rather insensitive to cognitive strategies. Specifically, as semantic repetition re-activates relational information, our study supports the idea that enacting action phrases can enhance memory via item-specific processing rather than via relational processing (e.g., Zimmer and Engelkamp, 1985;Seiler and Engelkamp, 2003;Steffens et al, 2006;Steffens et al, 2009;Schatz et al, 2011;Li and Wang, 2018).…”

“…Subjects typically recall more phrases that they have also enacted compared to those they have only read. The enactment effect represents a robust phenomenon, as it has been observed in a large number of studies across various encoding-, recall-, and recognition-conditions (e.g., Engelkamp and Krumnacker, 1980;Cohen, 1981Cohen, , 1989Saltz and Donnenwerth-Nolan, 1981;Bäckman et al, 1986;Schatz et al, 2011;Steffens et al, 2015;Zhao et al, 2016;Badinlou et al, 2017Badinlou et al, , 2018aHainselin et al, 2017;Li et al, 2017;Wammes et al, 2017;Yu and Wang, 2017;Borg et al, 2018;Li and Wang, 2018;Liu and Wang, 2018). Interestingly, studies found that enactment can also enhance learning foreign languages (see also Macedonia and von Kriegstein, 2012) and can thereby facilitate the process of language acquisition (for reviews, see Taleghani-Nikazm, 2008).…”

“…On the other hand, studies also show performance improvements following learning repetition. Studies investigating repeated learning in SPT showed improved memory performance, likely as a result of enhanced item-specific processing (Schatz et al, 2010(Schatz et al, , 2011Kubik et al, 2014a,b). Thus, to combine the enhancing roles of deeper semantic treatment and repetition, the present study aimed to explore the effect of semantic repetition.…”

The Role of Item-Specific Information for the Retrieval Awareness of Performed Actions

“…Most of the research suggests that SPT promotes item-specific knowledge, making the item more specific and distinguishable (e.g., Steffens et al, 2006 , 2009 ; Kubik et al, 2016 ). The item-specific information accompanied by SPT can be especially effective in leading to the memory advantage of encoding by enacting (Seiler and Engelkamp, 2003 ; Schatz et al, 2011 ). The assumption of enhanced item-specific processing is based on the result that the enactment effect is much more notable in recognition and cued-recall than in free-recall (Steffens et al, 2006 , 2009 ).…”

Enrichment Effects of Gestures and Pictures on Abstract Words in a Second Language

“…The effect of the action/gesture on word retention is referred to as the “enactment effect” (EE) ( Engelkamp, 1998 ). EE is a robust mechanism documented by various memory tests: free recall ( Engelkamp and Dehn, 2000 ; Schatz et al, 2011 ), cued recall ( Kormi-nouri, 1995 ; Kubik et al, 2014 ), and word recognition ( Engelkamp et al, 1994 ; Golly-Häring and Engelkamp, 2003 ).…”