Effects of word class on the recall of sentences

Abstract

Subjects attempted to recall sentences, with noun or pronoun subjects and objects, after a 20-sec retention interval. Word class of subject and object had no significant effect on the probability of correct recall. High uncertainty sentences, which contain nouns instead of pronouns, were most often incompletely recalled, indicating a limited capacity system. But these same sentences were virtually never completely forgotten, as some sentences with pronouns were. This suggests a special role for concrete nouns in cueing the recall processes. Within the sentences which were incorrectly recalled, sentence objects were more likely to be remembered when it differed in word class from the subject, indicating increased interference between members of the same word class within a sentence.