Practice effects on two memory retrievals from a single cue

The effects of practice on 2 retrievals from a single cue were investigated. In Experiment 1, participants were given extended single-task practice and were then tested on a dual memory retrieval task. Performance was consistent with a sequential retrieval model proposed by T. C. Rickard and H. Pashler (2003). In Experiment 2, participants practiced both single- and dual-retrieval tasks extensively. Initially, data from all participants indicated sequential retrieval. However, participants who grouped the 2 response outputs were eventually able to perform the dual task with a latency that approached the prediction of a parallel race model. Models that assume a transition from sequential to parallel retrieval with practice, along with other models that assume an immutable retrieval bottleneck at all practice levels, are considered. The question of whether memory retrieval can be executed in parallel with other cognitive processes, including other retrievals, is currently an active topic of investigation. In several recent articles, theorists have advanced the idea that two or more memory instances can be retrieved in parallel (Logan, 1988, 1992; Nosof-sky & Palmeri, 1997; Palmeri, 1997, 1999). Other researchers have explicitly suggested that two retrievals can proceed in parallel from a common cue (Rohrer, Pashler, & Etchegaray, 1998; Ross &amp