A comparison of presentation rates using a missing item probe test of immediate memory

Abstract

Two experiments are reported in which presentation rates were compared using a “missing-item” probe technique for digit lists of 12 or 16 items. The results replicate previous studies (e.g., Waugh & Norman, 1965) in that probability of recall was found to be a monotonically decreasing function of the number of intervening items and no significant differences were found between presentation rates. The results are interpreted as further evidence against a time decay hypothesis in immediate probed recall.