Isolation and Similarity Effects in a Serial Reconstruction Task

Abstract

Experiment I served to replicate well-established findings that perceptual isolation of an item in a serial list does not significantly affect total-list acquisition when learning is by the anticipation method. For Experiment II it was reasoned that a reconstruction method would lessen the emphasis on response-learning requirements, thus allowing for detection of facilitated total-list acquisition from perceptual isolation. This expectation was confirmed, especially for low intralist similarity materials, and was attributed to stimulus-selection processes in interitem discrimination and to the use of the isolating stimulus as an organizational device.