Organization, retroactive inhibition, and free-recall learning

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to assess the influence of organization on retroactive inhibition (RI). Earlier studies of organization and RI manipulated organization by constructing different word lists. In the present study the words to be recalled were the same for all conditions. Organization was manipulated by instructing S s how to organize their list (Experiment I), by having S s sort the words into designated categories (Experiment II), or by manipulating the presentation order of the lists (Experiment III). The major finding was that there is greater RI when both lists to be learned have similar organization than when the organizations are different. The procedure of holding the content constant and manipulating strategies or organization seems to be a promising way to study memory processes.