Reconstructing memory for sequences is a complex process, likely involving multiple sources of information. In 3 experiments, we examined the source(s) of information that might underlie the ability to accurately place an event within a temporal context. The task was to estimate, after studying each list, the temporal position of a single test…

Decision-makers effortlessly balance the need for urgency against the need for caution. Theoretical and neurophysiological accounts have explained this tradeoff solely in terms of the "quantity" of evidence required to trigger a decision (the "threshold"). This explanation has also been used as a benchmark test for evaluating…

For lexical-gustatory synaesthetes, words trigger automatic, associated food sensations (e.g., for JB, the word "slope" tastes of over-ripe melon). Our study tests two claims about this unusual condition: that synaesthetic tastes are associated with abstract levels of word representation (concepts/lemmas), and that the first tastes to crystallise…

Spaced presentations of 12- and 15-word lists were better recalled when no task or an easy task intervened between presentations. Results indicate a lack of generality in Bjork and Allen's 1970 findings and a need for a two-factor theory of the spacing effect, and are evidence for a spacing effect. (CHK)

In two experiments using the Brown-Peterson memory paradigm, instructions to guess had small effects on recall, but sizeable effects on incidence of prior list intrustion. However, results indicate that proactive interference is primarily the result of inability to generate correct items, rather than confusion between present and previous items.…

When subjects utter a series of redundant sounds while memorizing word lists, performance is impaired and phonemic similarity effect is reduced. Experiments explored the influence of articulatory suppression on free recall; neither showed interaction between suppression and serial position. Recency effect may not reflect short-term phonemic store.…

Two experiments showed the proportion of recalled words recognized to be higher than expected when the experiment was conducted under typical study conditions. Under special study conditions, the proportion of recalled words recognized more closely approximated expected values. Exceptions depend on encoding operations rather than on the properties…

One hundred forty-four subjects received 4 Brown-Peterson trials with recall triads from a common encoding category. Items on three trials were from a common subset, while on the fourth, the subset was shifted or not, and a cue was presented or not. The cue influenced response generation, a shift improved recall. (CHK)

Two experiments tested for effects of intralist cues upon recognition probability. Categorized and random lists were each tested, with targets appearing with zero, one or three intralist cues. Experiments showed substantial effects of trials and list type, but not of intralist context. (CHK)

Three experiments are described which support the hypothesis that in a lexical decision task, prefixed works are analyzed into their constituent morphemes before lexical access occurs. Results compare classification times of nonwords that are and are not stems, of free and bound morphemes, and of stems and control items. (CHK)

Whereas some research on immediate recall of verbal lists has suggested that it is limited by the number of chunks that can be recalled (e.g., N. Cowan, Z. Chen, & J. N. Rouder, 2004; E. Tulving & J. E. Patkau, 1962), other research has suggested that it is limited by the length of the material to be recalled (e.g., A. D. Baddeley, N. Thomson, &…

Describes two experiments in which Ss were given 48 trials, using word lists as stimuli, followed by an unexpected final free recall test. (Author/RM)

In experiments where hypnotized subjects learned one word list while happy or sad, retention proved to be surprisingly independent of the congruence of learning and testing moods. Learning mood provided a helpful retrieval cue and differentiating context only where subjects learned two word lists, one while happy, one while sad. (EJS)

Two criteria for the automatic encoding of learning, instructional manipulation, and stimulus characteristics were studied in subjects who judged the frequency of occurrence of words, letters, and nonwords. In Experiment 1, six word lists were constructed with varying frequency of alphabet letters. A variety of instructions were presented (whether…