Aspects of the Theory of Comprehension, Memory and Attention
Open Access
- 1 February 1973
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
- Vol. 25 (1), 22-40
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14640747308400320
Abstract
This paper proposed a two-stage model to capture some basic relations between attention, comprehension and memory for sentences. According to the model, the first stage of linguistic processing is carried out in short-term memory (M1) and involves a superficial analysis of semantic and syntactic features of words. The second stage is carried out in long-term memory (M2) and involves application of transformational rules to the analyses of M1 so as to determine the deep or underlying relations among words and phrases. According to the theory, attention is an M2 process: preliminary analyses by M1 are carried out even for unattended inputs, but final analyses by M2 are only carried out for attended inputs. The theory was shown to be consistent with established facts concerning memory, attention and comprehension, and additional support for the theory was obtained in a series of dichotic listening experiments.Keywords
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