Incidental vs. intentional encoding

From MerrimackWiki

Definition

Incidental Encoding - used in memory research where participants are exposed to testing material without any mention of a test.

Intentional Encoding - used in memory research where participants are exposed to testing material knowing there will be a test.

Intentional encoding makes the process of rehearsal more specified for the subjects by giving them knowledge of an upcoming test of memory while Incidental encoding allows for a more natural sense of daily perceptions.

Significance

When conducting memory research, it is important for researchers to control how participants process information in memory studies.

This would allow for researchers to handle two different types of rehearsal for subjects. In Intentional Encoding you would be studying something such as how people would effectively memorize terms for an exam, where Incidental Encoding would study perception of things like eye witness testimony.

Incidental encoding was used to show how memory is stored due to levels of processing. If incidental encoding was not used, researchers would not had been able to tell wether the recall times were due to storage systems or LOP.