Unit-sequence facilitation in recall

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of pre-experimental associative habits on the retention of paired associates. The learning materials were mixed lists of 15 paired associates comprising five pairs each of strong associates, crossed associates, and unrelated words (S, Cr, and U pairs). For the S pairs there was a normative connection of high strength between the stimulus and the response. The Cr pairs consisted of inappropriately paired members of strongly associated pairs. There were no known normative connections between the members of U pairs. There were three groups receiving different numbers of acquisition trials (two, six and ten, respectively) chosen so as to yield approximately equal degrees of learning on the three types of pairs. Retention was tested 48 hrs after the end of learning. Comparisons were made among the critical pairs which determined the number of learning trials given to each group. Recall of the S pairs was substantially higher than that of the U and Cr pairs. The Cr pairs tended to be recalled better than the U pairs. The results provide evidence for positive effects on retention of pre-experimental associative habits and of response availability.