The enactment effect in a multi-trial free-recall paradigm

A study of retrieval processes in action memory for school-aged children: the impact of recall period and difficulty on action memory

“…Spranger et al (2008) demonstrated that action encoding (SPTs) improved memory output by increasing the number of items stored in memory and accelerating the item-retrieval process. Kubik et al (2014) also found that action encoding (SPTs) enhances memory performance throughout the recall period. Both studies concluded that the enactment effect (of SPTs as opposed to VTs) significantly promoted item-specific information processing (Kubik et al, 2014;Spranger et al, 2008) and impeded item-relational processing (Kubik et al, 2014) during the freerecall period.…”

“…Kubik et al (2014) also found that action encoding (SPTs) enhances memory performance throughout the recall period. Both studies concluded that the enactment effect (of SPTs as opposed to VTs) significantly promoted item-specific information processing (Kubik et al, 2014;Spranger et al, 2008) and impeded item-relational processing (Kubik et al, 2014) during the freerecall period. In our study, experimenter-performed condition processes were compared with subjectperformed and verbal encoding condition-processes.…”

“…That is, the number of items recalled 30, 60, 90, and 120 seconds into the recall period were counted. Timing began immediately after the last word of the instructions was read in the test phase, a procedure based on the method used in previous studies (Kubik et al, 2014;Spranger et al, 2008). We employed both strict and lenient scoring procedures.…”

“…Moreover, the study by Kubik et al (2014) revealed that the recall speed of enacted items continually increases over the recall periods and that the enactment effect was greatest in the final minute. They concluded that, compared to VTs, SPTs result in better item-specific processing but not better relational information processing, and that SPTs might even impede relational information processing (Kubik et al, 2014). In sum, these two studies indicated that SPTs have better accessibility compared to verbal encoding, leading to faster recall over time.…”

“…In addition to the difference between VTs and SPTs in terms of the number of items recalled, enacted encoding in comparison to verbal encoding has also been assumed by some researchers to affect retrieval processes such as recall speed and accessibility (e.g. Kubik, Obermeyer, Meier, & Knopf, 2014;Spranger, Schatz, & Knopf, 2008). Spranger et al (2008) compared the retrieval process of action phrases with that of verbal phrases by conducting two experiments.…”