Organizational and retrieval processes in person memory: An examination of processing objectives, presentation format, and the possible role of self-generated retrieval cues

Examined memory for behavioral information under conditions in which the number of target persons and the number of behaviors pertaining to each target person were simultaneously varied. 256 undergraduates recalled more of the behavioral information when given a general impression set than when given a memory set, when the information was presented blocked by person than when it was presented randomly, and when they were tested immediately rather than after a delay. Impression-set Ss recalled more behaviors per person than memory-set Ss when the information was presented in a blocked format. However, they recalled more individual target persons and more behaviors per person when the information was presented in a random format. Results suggest that the specific nature of processing objectives and the constraints imposed by presentation format need to be considered carefully in developing future theoretical models of person memory. The role of self-generated retrieval cues and the possibility that there are 2 conceptually distinct types of retrieval are discussed. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).