Retrieval strategies in memory-based automaticity

A new approach to the role of attention in memory-based automaticity is presented. The retrieval strategy hypothesis asserts that people attend to stimuli in whatever way will optimize the retrieval of past solutions from memory. Different retrieval strategies can compete against each other over time, with new ones emerging at different levels of practice. The set of viable retrieval strategies from which subjects select can be determined by a task analysis in terms of three principles. These principles allow specific predictions to be made about the retrieval strategies people will use, with implications for both immediate performance, and for encoding, which affects future performance. Predictions were tested in four enumeration experiments. Results supported the retrieval strategy hypothesis, and included evidence that some subjects had switched attention from one stimulus component to another for the purpose of optimizing retrieval.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio