A functional approach to levels of processing

Demonstrated in 2 experiments with 64 and 36 undergraduates, respectively, that the effects of level of processing depend on scaled meaningfulness of the material and study time. Experimental data and data currently in the literature are analyzed to examine the effect of repetitions. The form of the function relating number of repetitions to retention performance, and the manner in which that function is influenced by variations in level of processing and scaled meaningfulness are discussed. It is suggested that task demands operate to change the form of the function relating repetitions to retention performance. (27 ref)