Task demands and memory in web interaction: a levels of processing approach

The Levels of Processing principle holds that the strength of the encoded memory trace depends on the mental operations carried out during goal-pursuit. Therefore, memory should be better for web elements that are more deeply processed. Participants (N=24) accomplished several information finding tasks with printed web pages in two conditions: navigationorientation and content-orientation. The results support the prediction and show marked differences between the two tasks in how the locations and features of task-relevant and - irrelevant elements are remembered. In explaining the results, the levels of processing principle is bound to a wider model of perception, attention, and memory in web interaction. It is argued that the memory test tapped explicit memories that are not recruited in the rapid on-line control of attention but rather in higher-level operations such as planning and error recovery in interaction. Implications are proposed for the design of memorable user interfaces, adaptive hypertext, and notifications.