Encoding and Retrieval Processes in Distinctiveness Effects: Toward an Integrative Framework

This chapter considers two general classes of processes: encoding processes and retrieval processes. These two classes are presented as explanations of distinctiveness effects. The contemporary experiments directed at competitive tests of encoding versus retrieval explanations are then reviewed. The upshot is that no clear conclusion seems evident from the existing literature. The chapter reconsiders the findings within an organizational framework that considers encoding and retrieval processes orthogonally with two categories of distinctiveness: primary distinctiveness and secondary distinctiveness. It argues that under the lens of this analysis, some informative patterns begin to emerge. Finally, it describes several testable hypotheses using the encoding/retrieval distinction and suggests that primary and secondary distinctiveness effects may be mediated by different memory processes.