Why Do Actions Speak Louder than Words? Action Memory as a Variant of Encoding Manipulations or the Result of a Specific Memory System?

Abstract

Abstract In the preceding chapters of this book, a long series of empirical data was presented that provided grounds for the suspicion that action memory is something specific. Most of the reported experiments demonstrated excellent memory performances for actions when they were self-performed, and such performance levels were usually not achieved with other types of encoding. Furthermore, some manipulations of the encoding conditions, known for being effective in verbal memory, did not show similar effects in SPT, whereas some other effects occurred only if the actions were performed during study. Taking these results as a whole, performing actions during study must be considered a specific encoding condition that differs from standard verbal encoding. However, considering performance as a unique encoding operation does not necessarily take into consideration that actions are remembered by a specific memory system; on the contrary, this point is controversial, as demonstrated by the contributions to this book.