When do semantic orienting tasks hinder recall?

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Multitrial free recall was compared between groups engaging in semantic orienting tasks on each study trial and a standard group. When study and recall phases alternated, the standard group showed a steeper growth rate over trials, although the usual equivalence among groups after a single trial was replicated. This outcome was predicted on the assumption that the growth of recall with repetition depends on organizational encoding and that semantic orienting tasks emphasize the coding of individual items. When there was only a single test trial following three study trials, no difference was found, implicating an important role for retrieval processes in potentiating organizational encoding.