Following dichotic presentation, it was found that the amount ostensibly retrieved from echoic memory was less than the amount retrieved from echoic memory for single lists. Moreover, the amount retrieved from dichotic echoic memory did not vary with the amount probably available of a message going simultaneously to the other ear. The latter did however vary with how much freedom S had to devote his attention to it. Ss were 120 undergraduates. It is argued that these results can be integrated if it is assumed that the strength of the trace varies directly with the attention paid to the stimulus, attention being particularly well assured if the stimulus is verbalized at presentation. Some results on presentation rates suggested that the effect of the rate is predominantly to decide S's strategy of verbalization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)