
Levels of Processing
- Shallow Processing - This takes two forms 1. Structural processing (appearance) which is when we encode only the physical qualities of something. ...
- Deep Processing - This takes two forms 3. ...
- Summary Levels of processing: The idea that the way information is encoded affects how well it is remembered. The deeper the level of processing, the easier the information is to recall. ...
What is the level of processing?
The levels of processing framework was presented by Craik & Lockhart (1972) as an alternative to theories of memory that postulated separate stages for sensory, working and long-term memory. According to the levels of processing framework, stimulus information is processed at multiple levels simultaneously depending upon its characteristics.
What are the levels of processing effect?
Shallow processing occurs in four ways:
- Structural: Processing how an object or sound looks
- Phonemic: When we process how something sounds
- Graphemic: Processing letters contained in a word
- Orthographic: Processing the shape of something
What is deep level processing?
processing that involves attention to meaning and relating an item to something else. Hereof, what is deep level processing? Deep processing involves elaboration rehearsal which involves a more meaningful analysis (e.g. images, thinking, associations etc.) of information and leads to better recall. For example, giving words a meaning or linking them with previous knowledge.
What is the level of processing theory?
They identified at least three levels:
- Structural level: This is a shallow layer of processing where we only pay attention to the outward appearance of a word (e.g. its morphology).
- Phonetic level: This is a deeper level of processing where we listen to the sound of the word.
- Semantic level: This is the deepest level of processing where we consider the meaning of the word.

What are the 3 levels of processing?
The visceral level is fast: it makes rapid judgments of what is good or bad, safe or dangerous, and sends appropriate signals to the muscles (the motor system) and alerts the rest of the brain.
What is levels of processing in psychology example?
The levels of processing model (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) focuses on the depth of processing involved in memory, and predicts the deeper information is processed, the longer a memory trace will last. Unlike the multi-store model it is a non-structured approach.
What are different levels of processing?
Perfetti (in Cermak & Craik, 1979, p159-180) extends the levels of processing framework to language comprehension. He proposes seven levels: acoustic, phonology, syntactic, semantic, referential, thematic, and functional.
What is main idea of levels of processing theory?
The levels of processing model counters the idea that mere repetition helps us retain information long-term. Instead, it suggests that information that is encoded on a deeper level, through meaningful association, is easier to remember.
What is meant by levels of processing theory quizlet?
Levels of processing: The idea that the way information is encoded affects how well it is remembered. The deeper the level of processing, the easier the information is to recall.
What is an example of deep processing?
Other examples of deep processing include: organizing your notes around common themes, generating questions for review, creating a concept map of ideas studied, and paying attention to key distinctions.
What are the different types of levels of processing for memory?
The Levels of the Memory Processing ModelStructural Level. The first level is the structural level of processing. It is processing based on appearance only. ... Phonemic Level. Phonemes refer to sound. ... Semantic Processing. Semantic processing is the deepest level of processing according to this model.
How does level of processing affect memory?
The Levels of Processing model, created by Fergus I. M. Craik and Robert S. Lockhart in 1972, describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing. Deeper levels of analysis produce more elaborate, longer-lasting, and stronger memory traces than shallow levels of analysis.
What is verbal level of processing?
There are three levels of processing for verbal data: structural, phonetic, and semantic. Structural processing examines the structure of a word; phonetic processing examines how a word sounds; and semantic processing examines the meaning of a word.
What is the difference between shallow processing and deep processing?
“The basic idea is that if you think about information meaningfully (deep processing), you are much more likely to remember that information than if you think about at a superficial, meaningless level (shallow processing). And this is true regardless of whether you intend to learn the material or not.
What is bottom up processing in psychology?
Bottom-up processing is the process of 'sensation', whereby the input of sensory information from the external environment is received by our sensory receptors. Perception is how our brains choose, organize, and interpret these sensations.
What is depth of processing in psychology?
By "depth of processing", we mean, the way in which a person thinks about a piece of information, for example, a shallow level of processing of a word would be to skim over a sentence and to understand the sentence without dwelling on the individual word.
How does the level of processing effect memory?
The Levels of Processing model, created by Fergus I. M. Craik and Robert S. Lockhart in 1972, describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing. Deeper levels of analysis produce more elaborate, longer-lasting, and stronger memory traces than shallow levels of analysis.
What is an example of spreading activation?
This general elevation and availability is called spreading activation. For example, if I say "fire engine," not only do you think of a fire engine, but related concepts such as trucks, fire, even the color red become activated, making it easier for you to retrieve or identify those items.
Which example best describes state dependent learning?
State-dependent learning For example, people that undergo alcohol intoxication while encoding information recall significantly more when they are also intoxicated during retrieval, compared to those whose alcoholic states differ from encoding to retrieval.
What is bottom up processing in psychology?
Bottom-up processing is the process of 'sensation', whereby the input of sensory information from the external environment is received by our sensory receptors. Perception is how our brains choose, organize, and interpret these sensations.
Modifiers
Familiarity, transfer-appropriate processing, the self-reference effect, and the explicit nature of a stimulus modify the levels-of-processing effect by manipulating mental processing depth factors.
Sensory modes
Different sensory modes, by their nature, involve different depths of processing, generally producing higher recall value in certain senses than others. However, there is significant room for the modifiers mentioned earlier to affect levels-of-processing to be activated within each sensory mode.
Neural evidence
Several brain imaging studies using positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques have shown that higher levels of processing correlate with more brain activity and activity in different parts of the brain than lower levels.
Mental disorders
Levels-of-processing effects interact in various ways with mental disorders. In particular, levels-of-processing effects appear to be strengthened in patients with age-related memory degradation, selectively strengthened in panic disorder patients, unaffected in Alzheimer's disease patients, and reversed in autistic patients.
What is level of processing?
The term levels of processing was introduced by Craik and Lockhart (1972) to describe the way in which the information contained in a stimulus can be analyzed at levels ranging from surface physical properties to deeper levels involving its meaning. Thus in reading the printed word clever, the reader might process orthographic features, such as its being in capital letters, or phonemic features, such as that it rhymes with ever, or semantic features, such as that it is a synonym for skilled.
How does level of processing affect memory?
The level of processing is a powerful determinant of how well an event will be remembered (Craik and Tulving, 1975). A simple demonstration experiment illustrates this point. Participants in the experiment are presented with a sequence of common words and asked to make one of three possible judgments about each word. For some words participants are asked to make a judgment at the orthographic level, such as whether the word is printed in capital letters; other words require a phonemic-level judgment, such as whether the word rhymes with a certain word; a third set of words requires a judgment involving meaning, such as whether the word is a synonym for a specified word. The assumption is that these three types of judgments require increasingly deep levels of processing. In a subsequent memory test in which participants are asked to recall the words, deeper levels of processing are associated with higher levels of recall: those words that required a semantic-level judgment are recalled best, whereas those requiring orthographic processing yield the lowest recall level.
What is the difference between intentional and incidental processing?
Because we do not usually make an intentional effort to commit everyday experiences to memory, much of our normal remembering is incidental. You can probably recall what you were doing exactly twenty-four hours ago even though, at the time, you were not making a conscious effort to commit the activity to memory. This aspect of everyday life can be captured in an experimental setting by using incidental orienting tasks in which participants are not informed that they will receive a subsequent memory test. Participants might perform the judgments believing that the only purpose of the experiment is to see how quickly they can respond. According to the levels of processing approach, such participants should not be disadvantaged relative to those instructed to expect the memory test, provided the level of processing for the two groups is comparable. That is to say, the important determinant of remembering is not the conscious effort of committing something to memory but the level of processing that the orienting task induces. This conclusion is supported by experimental findings. For example, participants who are asked to rate a word for pleasantness as an incidental orienting task perform as well on a subsequent unexpected memory test as those who are given prior warning of the test.
Who wrote the book Levels of Processing?
Lockhart, R. S. , and Craik, F. I. M. (1990). Levels of processing: A retrospective commentary on a framework for memory research. Canadian Journal of Psychology 44, 87-112.
What happens when a researcher exhorts participants in an experiment simply to "try to remember"?
What happens when a researcher exhorts participants in an experiment simply to "try to remember"? Presumably the subjects will process the material in whatever way they think will most effectively support later remembering. A common strategy with verbal material is to rehearse it by silently repeating a word or phrase over and over. Such a strategy is relatively ineffective for long-term remembering, since such repetitive processing typically involves no further analysis of meaning (no deeper-level processing) but consists of maintaining phonemic recollection. Again, the important point is that successful remembering is less a matter of conscious effort than of being led to perform an orienting task that demands deep levels of processing.
What is the level of processing framework?
Although the levels of processing framework have evolved over its nearly 40 years of existence, the essence of the idea has not changed from the original. The original article published in 1972 suggests that in the encoding stage of a stimulus, there is a series of processing hierarchies ranging from the shallowest level (perceptual processing—the subject initially perceives the physical and sensory characteristics of the stimulus) to the deepest level (semantic processing—related to pattern recognition and extraction of meaning). The depth processing is associated with high levels of retention and long-term memory traces. After extensive research and criticism, the authors added several concepts that aided in a better understanding of levels of processing framework and the items that subjects can recall such as transfer-appropriate processing and robust encoding. However, there are still some gaps in this framework that call for new scientific investigations, ranging from experimental paradigms with lists of words with healthy or pathological conditions subject to neuroimaging studies to confirm, refute or improve the framework. The aim of this article is to review the publications (articles and book chapters) dating from the original article to the present day to better understand the mnemonic process in terms of levels of processing and to highlight some of its contributions.
Who published the term "levels of processing"?
The article that introduced the term “levels of processing,” published by Craik and Lockhart in 1972, is one of the most widely cited cognitive psychology articles in the literature.
What is LOP in memory?
The aim of this article is to review the literature and answer these questions in terms of levels of processing (LOP), which is a widely used concept in memory studies. According to Tulving (2002), LOP is a framework, not a theory; a framework is much broader and can be more vague than a theory.
Which is better: semantic or phonological processing?
Morris, Bransford, and Franks (1977) showed that semantic processing is better than phonological processing, but only when the retrieval task requires the remembrance of meaning. When the retrieval task requires rhyme recognition, phonological processing gives superior results. For instance, the guided task may be to verify whether the target word fits into the phrase (as in the semantic task “ _______has wings”: BIRD; response: “Yes”), or a guided task could be to verify whether the target word rhymes with the preceding word (as in the phonological task “ _______rhymes with mat”: HAT; response: “Yes”). At the end of the guided task, a memory task is carried out with cues that show only the phrase of the semantic task (so that the subject recalls the target word; for example, BIRD), or only the phrase of the phonetic task (so that the subject recalls the target word; for example, HAT). Thus, if the recall task is congruent with the guided task, the memory is facilitated, even for subjects who perform the shallower, phonetic task. That is, the best processing level is the one that fits the requirements of the retrieval task. Or, in other words, it is better to test what the subject was induced to learn. Following this principle, Morris et al. (1977) proposed an alternative to LOP known as transfer-appropriate processing. This issue, that was initially a criticism of LOP, was later added to this framework. Similarly, Tulving (1979) developed the encoding specificity principle, which is an idea that focuses on the compatibility of the cue used in recall with the processing done in encoding (i.e., between the encoding operation and the retrieval cues ). According to Tulving (1979), this idea is compatible with LOP because the recall of graphic, semantic or phonetic elements is superior when encoded by physical, phonetic or semantic characteristics, respectively. However, the adoption of an encoding type that is compatible with recall does not prevent the LOP effect; i.e., semantic (deeper) encoding causes an overall higher proportion of retained memory than more shallow types of encoding ( Craik & Tulving, 1975 ).
What are the stages of memory?
For a better understanding of this, we must assume the widely accepted idea that memory consists of three main stages: encoding (acquisition of information), storage (maintenance of the information) and retrieval (use of the information that was stored) ( Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968 ).
Which lobe is more specialized in semantic processing?
(2004) investigated the role of the right and left temporal lobes in LOP tasks. The authors concluded that the right temporal lobe is more specialized in semantic processing because patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy showed deficits in the free-recall test phase of the study, which required semantic (deep) processing.
When semantic processing is appropriate, it leads to a better recollection than attending only to nonseman?
Certainly, when semantic processing is appropriate, it leads to a better recollection than attending only to nonsemantic aspects of the stimuli ( Gardiner, 1974; Hyde & Jenkins, 1969; Demb et al., 1995 ). As Bellezza et al. (1977) remind us, words are basically semantic units, thus requiring semantic memory to be recalled.
What is the level of processing model of memory?
LEVELS-OF-PROCESSING MODEL OF MEMORY: "One of the many models which aims to explain the process of memory is the levels-of-processing concept which suggests that memory is in two parts- the idea and the information individuals then associated with the idea."
Who first proposed the encoding of a specific memory?
first proposed by Canadian psychology M. Craik (1935 - ), suggesting that the encoding of a specific memory is dependent on the level of elaboration and understanding of the information associated with the memory is.
What are the three ways of testing the levels of processing concept?
They were presented with a word, very quickly, then a question about the word: there were three different ways of testing the levels of processing concept - structural, phonetic and semantic.
What does "deeper information is processed" mean?
The depth we process information ; the deeper information is processed, the better it is recalled

What Is Craik and Lockhart’s Levels of Processing Theory?
- This theory of memory uses a pyramid to show the “hierarchy” of different levels of processing, from shallow to deep. The shallow processes, including structural processes, are least likely to be remembered long-term, while the deepest processes are more likely to “stick.”
Factors That Influence Memory Recall
- There is more to memory than these processes. Other factors, or modifiers, modify how information fits into the Levels of Processing model and how easily we can recall that information. These modifiers include: 1. Familiarity 2. Transfer-appropriate processing 3. The self-reference effect
When Was The Levels of Processing Theory developed?
- Craik and Lockhart developed their model in 1972. Three years later, they developed a study that would test out this theory. Their study helped to prove that their hypothesis could be right and that our memory recall depends on how we interact with information.
Criticisms of The Levels of Processing Theory
- No theory is perfect. We still have many questions about memory. The Levels of Processing Theory attempts to answer some of these questions, but other questions are still left unanswered. When it comes to studying the levels of processing theory, it’s not exactly easy to get an exact measurement of the depth of these processes. In 1973, Craik defined depthas “the meaningfuln…
Overview
The Levels of Processing model, created by Fergus I. M. Craik and Robert S. Lockhart in 1972, describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing. Deeper levels of analysis produce more elaborate, longer-lasting, and stronger memory traces than shallow levels of analysis. Depth of processing falls on a shallow to deep continuum. Shallow processing (e.g., processing based on phonemic and orthographic components) leads to a fragile memory trace th…
Modifiers
Familiarity, transfer-appropriate processing, the self-reference effect, and the explicit nature of a stimulus modify the levels-of-processing effect by manipulating mental processing depth factors.
A stimulus will have a higher recall value if it is highly compatible with preexisting semantic structures (Craik, 1972). According to semantic network theories, this is because such a stimulus will have many connections to other encoded memories, which are activated based on closenes…
Sensory modes
Different sensory modes, by their nature, involve different depths of processing, generally producing higher recall value in certain senses than others. However, there is significant room for the modifiers mentioned earlier to affect levels-of-processing to be activated within each sensory mode.
Visual input creates the strongest recall value of all senses, and also allows the widest spectru…
Neural evidence
Several brain imaging studies using positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques have shown that higher levels of processing correlate with more brain activity and activity in different parts of the brain than lower levels. For example, in a lexical analysis task, subjects showed activity in the left inferior prefrontal cortex only when identifying whether the word represented a living or nonliving object, and not when identifying whether or n…
Mental disorders
Levels-of-processing effects interact in various ways with mental disorders. In particular, levels-of-processing effects appear to be strengthened in patients with age-related memory degradation, selectively strengthened in panic disorder patients, unaffected in Alzheimer's disease patients, and reversed in autistic patients.
Memory encoding strength derived from higher levels-of-processing appears to be conserved de…