TEMPORAL STRUCTURE AT ENCODING AFFECTS SUBSEQUENT RECALL

Temporal structure at encoding influences later recall, yet the conditions under which brief rest periods enhance recall remain uncertain. We assessed whether short ‘rest periods’ between clusters of words (the inter-cluster interval; ICI) modulated free recall performance. In Experiment 1, 64 online participants completed five study-test blocks. Each block contained 30 words, organised into five clusters of six words. In each block, the ICI was fixed at 1s, 3s, 6s, 15s, or 30s. After each study block, participants completed a free recall task. No effect of ICI on recall was observed. However, participants classified as deep encoders, based on self-report measures, recalled significantly more words than shallow encoders. In Experiment 2, we explicitly manipulated encoding strategy, asking participants to use either a deep (elaboration) or shallow (repetition) strategy during encoding. We hypothesised that deep encoders would recall more overall and show a greater ICI effect. For this in-person experiment (N = 48, ~50% of the sample), we see a significant main effect of ICI and Strategy. However, there is no clear evidence of an interaction, with both groups benefiting from increased ICI. Our results demonstrate that short ‘rest periods’ during encoding may benefit memory performance.