A Comparison of Incidental and Purposeful Memory for Meaningful and Nonsense Material

Abstract

Studies of incidental memory are important for four reasons. (1) They contribute to our knowledge of learning processes in general. They show that human beings commonly acquire new responses without any apparent conscious intent to learn, but at the same time the marked inferiority of incidental to purposeful learning has provided a strong argument against the law of frequency. (2) Observations on incidental learning have a practical application in educational psychology. Progressive education, for example, stresses the concomitant aims of teaching, such as the inculcation of desirable personality traits and attitudes. These secondary aims can be achieved only by taking the principles of incidental learning into account, for most attitudes and traits are acquired without apparent intent to learn. (3) Investigations on incidental memory are important in legal psychology. The results of experiments on testimony have warned against the ready acceptance of eye-witness accounts of affective experiences. (4) Studies of non-intentional learning are significant because they set into relief the factors influencing the effectiveness of advertising. Since few advertisements receive the consumer's full attention for even short periods of time, most of the retention that results from seeing or hearing advertisements is involuntary in nature.