SHORT REPORT Conceptual and perceptual encoding instructions differently affect event recall Elvira Garcı ´a-Bajos • Malen Migueles • Alaitz Aizpurua Received: 25 October 2013 / Accepted: 28 March 2014 / Published online: 10 April 2014 Ó Marta Olivetti Belardinelli and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract When recalling an event, people usually retrieve the main facts and a reduced proportion of specific details. The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of conceptually and perceptually driven encoding in the recall of conceptual and perceptual information of an event. The materials selected for the experiment were two movie trailers. To enhance the encoding instructions, after watching the first trailer participants answered conceptual or perceptual questions about the event, while a control group answered general knowledge questions. After watching the second trailer, all of the participants com- pleted a closed-ended recall task consisting of conceptual and perceptual items. Conceptual information was better recalled than perceptual details and participants made more perceptual than conceptual commission errors. Conceptu- ally driven processing enhanced the recall of conceptual information, while perceptually driven processing not only did not improve the recall of descriptive details, but also damaged the standard conceptual/perceptual recall relationship. Keywords Conceptual encoding Á Perceptual encoding Á Instructions Á Event recall Introduction In psychology, various theories in cognitive processing have been characterized by the distinction between conceptual and perceptual processing. Examples include the levels of processing theory (Craik and Lockhart 1972), which dis- tinguishes between deep (semantic) and shallow (percep- tual) processing; global (Gestalt/holistic) and local models in visual processing (Navon 1977); top-down (i.e., concep- tually driven) and bottom-up (i.e., perceptually driven) processing; or automatic and controlled processes. These ideas are also found in dual-trace conceptions used to pre- dict and explain memory performance, such as the distinc- tion between gist (thematic information) and verbatim (perceptual features) traces of the fuzzy-trace theory (Bra- inerd and Reyna 1990) or the distinction between central (plot relevant) and peripheral (details) content in the pro- cessing of events. In general terms, the distinction between conceptual and perceptual processing emphasizes the encoding processes, and it is well known that deep and elaborate processing influences later retention (Craik and Tulving 1975). Accordingly, interventions such as encoding instructions and strategies, warnings, testing and practice have been used to improve memory, although none have focused directly on the effects of conceptually versus per- ceptually driven processing in memory for events. The primary goal of this study is to examine the effects of con- ceptual and perceptual encoding in subsequent event recall. Episodic memories consist of sensory–perceptual–con- ceptual–affective information derived from a single expe- rience. They are summary records of experience that contain perceptual information often in the form of visual images and a conceptual frame that provides a conceptual context of the event (for reviews, see Conway 2009; Wil- liams et al. 2008). In our daily life, we process events either as a whole or by focusing on details. Global processing involves conceptual or thematic information, significant relationships and spatial–temporal or causal links between different elements, while perceptual processing, the pro- cessing of details, involves distinctive analysis and E. Garcı ´a-Bajos (&) Á M. Migueles Á A. Aizpurua University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Avenida Tolosa, 70, 20018 San Sebastia ´n, Spain e-mail: elvira.garcia@ehu.es 123 Cogn Process (2014) 15:535–541 DOI 10.1007/s10339-014-0615-3