The effects of form class on the free recall of contiguous items

Abstract

Noun (N) and verb (V) items were exposed contiguously as pairs during the input phases of a free-recall task, with the list containing equal numbers of N-N, V-V, N-V, and V-N pairs. Recall of N items was superior to recall of V items for homogeneous pairs (N-N and V-V), but not for heterogeneous pairs (N-V and V-N). The results supported the hypothesis that recall of items in homogeneous pairs is mediated by associative habits, whereas recall of items in heterogeneous pairs is mediated by grammatical habits.