Although most researchers who have investigated the effect of expectancy on memory for behavioral information have found a recall superiority for schema-inconsistent information, this finding appears to occur most clearly only when an individual, rather than individuals in a group, is seen as performing the behaviors. In this study we demonstrate first that the individual-group distinction is important in obtaining a recall superiority of schema-inconsistent behaviors. We then investigate a mechanism hypothesized to underlie these effects, one that attributes the recall enhancement to extra processing given to inconsistent items. We obtain evidence supporting this mechanism from a study in which we measure reading times for behavior statements. We discuss the relevance of these findings to recent experiments.
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