Isolation, serial position, and rehearsal in free recall

Journal of experimental psychology, 1974

Both overt and silent rehearsal conditions were examined under both simultaneous and successive free-recall list presentation, using unrelated words both on a varied-order multitrial list and on another list with one isolated item. Simultaneous presentation produced better recall and increased rehearsals which were more consistent both with input and recall output orders than under successive presentation, but neither showed substantial relationships of rehearsal to recall organization. Item rehearsal-recall correspondences were minimal on later trials, reflecting maximal rehearsal of newly recalled items. Isolated-item recall was markedly facilitated despite no increase in rehearsals thereof, contrary to Rundus' findings in 1971. Thus, notable exceptions exist to any causal dependence of free-recall performance upon rehearsal activity, possible explanations for which are discussed.

Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1975

Experiments were designed to clarify the influence of level of processing on the recall of once-presented items and to determine whether spacing effects for repeated items result from differential processing of the second presentation. In a modified Brown-Peterson paradigm, the lengths of distractor-filled spacing and retention intervals were varied, and subjects were cued to rehearse each presentation of five-word pentads in either a primary (rote) or secondary (elaborative) fashion. Type of rehearsal had large and systematic effects, but the pattern of spacing effects was inconsistent with that predicted by a processing interpretation. An alternative theory, in which type of processing is assumed to interact with encoding variability, seems consistent with the results.

Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1970

The results of a previous experiment had indicated that the final words in a free-recall list were retrieved least well in a second recall session. This "negative recency effect" was found to hold for reminiscence items and, to some extent, for prior list intrusions in recall. Two further experiments showed that words retrieved in free recall were subsequently recognized less well if they had been presented late in their original input list. There was some evidence that a pattern of primacy and negative recency also held for the recognition of words not retrieved in free recall. It was concluded that terminal words in a free-recall list, although best recalled immediately, are thereafter least available in memory.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2010

In four experiments, participants were presented with lists of between 1 and 15 words for tests of immediate memory. In each experiment, participants tended to initiate recall with the first word on the list for short lists, but as the list length was increased so there was a decreased tendency to start with the first list item; and, when free to do so, participants showed an increased tendency to start with one of the last four list items. In all conditions, the start position strongly influenced the shape of the resultant serial position curves: when recall started at serial position 1, elevated recall of early list items was observed; when recall started towards the end of the list, there were extended recency effects. These results occurred under free recall, and different variants of immediate serial recall (ISR) and reconstruction of order tasks. We argue that these findings have implications for the relationship between recall and rehearsal and free recall and ISR.

Memory & Cognition, 1993

The recency effect in free recall features prominently in 1960s' theorizing about short-term memory, but has since been largely ignored. We argue that this stems from a preoccupation with the role of recency in the concept of primary memory and the neglect of its role in a broader working-memory framework. It is suggested that the recency effect reflects the application of an explicit retrieval strategy to the residue of implicit learning within a range of cognitive systems. When retrieved implicitly, the same residue is assumed to form the basis of priming effects. The various criteria for implicit learning described by are successfully applied to the recency effect, and a retrieval process is outlined that can account for both longand short-term recency effects. It is suggested that a framework combining recency, priming, and implicit learning provides a basis for understanding one of the most important features of cognition and memory, namely, that of maintaining orientation in time and place.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1999

In-immediate free recall, words recalled successively tend to come from nearby serial positions. M. J. Kahana (1996) documented this effect and showed that this tendency, which the authors refer to as the lag recency effect, is well described by a variant of the search of associative memory (SAM) model (J. G. W. Raaijmakers & R. M. Shiffrin, 1980, 1981). In 2 experiments, participants performed immediate, delayed, and continuous distractor free recall under conditions designed to minimize rehearsal. The lag recency effect, previously observed in immediate free recall, was also observed in delayed and continuous distractor free recall. Although two-store memory models, such as SAM, readily account for the end-of-list recency effect in immediate free recall, and its attenuation in delayed free recall, these models fail to account for the long-term recency effect. By means of analytic simulations, the authors show that both the end of list recency effect and the lag recency effect, across all distractor conditions, can be explained by a single-store model in which context, retrieved with each recalled item, serves as a cue for subsequent recalls.

Memory & Cognition, 1985

Journal of Memory and Language, 2005

Memory for repeated items often improves when repetitions are separated by other items-a phenomenon called the spacing effect. In two experiments, we explored the complex interaction between study strategies, serial position, and spacing effects. When people studied several unmixed lists, they initially used mainly rote rehearsal, but some people eventually adopted relational encoding strategies like creating a story from the items (Experiment 1). We observed overall spacing effects when participants used the story mnemonic, but not when they employed rote rehearsal strategies (Experiments 1 and 2). This occurred in part because the story mnemonic reduced or eliminated the usual recall advantage of immediately repeated items at the beginning of lists (Experiment 2).

Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1971

This experiment was a test of the organization theory assumption that optimal memory units are acquired in the context of an entire list. The acquisition and retention of 30-item free recall lists learned under the Whole and Part methods were compared. The Part lists were learned in two successive halves which were then combined so as to maintain (Blocked) or disrupt (Unblocked) part-based organization units. There were two Whole procedures: standard free recall (Unblocked) and a whole list presented in two parts (Blocked). Retention was tested immediately after learning or 1 wk. later. The results did not support predictions based on organization theory: Learning time was equivalent under all conditions and an overall comparison failed to show differences in recall while internal analyses suggested superior retention for Part. Poorest performance was found in Whole Blocked where a recency deficit effect was also isolated.

Memory & Cognition, 1975

1972

To provide a further test of the paired-associate analogy to retroactive inhibition in free recall, this experiment investigated the effect of presenting both original learning g14 aod interpolated learning (IL) in either blocked category (B) or random (10 fashion. IL-OL Similar (S), IL-OL Different (D), and control (c) conditions were included. A total of 60 male and 60 female university students were equally and randomly assigned to each of the six cel15 of the 2 x 3 factorial design. The lists contained 20 words, five from each of four categories-The experimental session consisted of (1) acquisition of OL list, (2) acquisition of IL list, and (3) criterion recall of OL list.,Among the findings were the following: (1) For OL learning, the R groups took more trials to reach criterion than the B groups, and no main effect was found for the OL-IL similarity factor. (2) For IL learning, the presentation factor was again significant, favoring the B groups; there was also a main effect for IL learning due to OL-IL similarity, with the D groups recalling more words than the S groups, and (3) The presentation factor was mot a significant source of variance for criterion recall of OL words; however, the main effect due to OL-IL similarity was significant. The number of words recalled decreased in the order of C, D, and S groups. References are included. WO 1.1. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.

1973

Retention after rapid overt rehearsal was assessed in two experiments. In the first, 20-word lists were presented as four sets of five words alternating with delay intervals. Recall of items from terminal serial positions was higher when delays were either silent or filled with overt rehearsal than when delays were filled with number subtraction. However, overt rehearsal produced the poorest recall of items from early serial positions. Results of a second experiment showed that overt rehearsal did not enhance performance on either a delayed recall or a delayed recognition test. Rehearsal is less effective than other techniques of study and may be totally ineffective unless it is accompanied by additional processing.

1979

sdstate.edu

The present study examined differences in accuracy of responses to serial and concurrent stimuli in an immediate free recall task for individuals from chemistry and psychology courses. Average accuracy of responses for presentation order, stimulus type, and gender differences were measured. The procedure used Superlab 4.0 and consisted of one practice trial followed by eight recorded trials of serial and concurrent word lists. Counterbalancing was used to try to control learning of one order of presentation over the opposite order. Serial word lists consisted of ten words presented two seconds apart and one at a time. Concurrent lists consisted of ten words presented simultaneously for twenty seconds. No significant main effects of presentation order, stimulus type, or gender were found when calculating a mixed ANOVA. No gender differences in accuracy between the two types of stimuli were expected. There were also no significant effects of the interactions for these variables. However, a medium effect was found for the interaction of presentation order and stimulus type. Increasing the population may lead to a significant effect of the presentation order by stimulus type interaction. Immediate free recall (IFR) is a common method used to try to determine individual differences in the number of stimuli (usually words) that can be stored in working (short-term)

Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1971

Two free recall experiments were designed to study the processes by which 5s remember some items and forget others. In both experiments, 5s were cued immediately after each word in a list whether to remember (R word) or to forget (F word) that word. After each of six such lists, 5s were asked to recall the R words and to avoid recalling the F words; in general, 5s were remarkably able to do both. At the end of the experiment, 5s were asked, without forewarning, to recall any and all R words and F words they could remember. In Exp. I, final recall of F words was very poor: they seemed not to be in memory. In Exp. II, which employed categorized lists, 5s recalled F words quite well given that there were R words in the same semantic category. The results suggest that the differential rehearsal devoted to R words operates primarily on retrieval rather than on storage.