Two experiments on how symmetrical difficulty factors (word familiarity and concreteness) affect stages of associative learning are reported. Learning parameters reacted in a qualitatively similar manner to stimulus and response manipulations. Paired associate items are represented in memory as unitary traces rather than as separate stimulus and…

Results showed that visual presentation was superior to auditory which was, in turn, superior to a combined mode of presentation. (RB)

Three paired-associate learning studies were designed to test the hypothesis that individual differences in learning speed are determined by the types of elaborative strategies used by learners during acquisition. Slow learners generate fewer elaborators and produce less effective elaborators, even when using the same strategy as fast learners.…

Examines whether it is the mediator as a "product" or whether it is the "process" involved in a particular strategy that facilitates learning, concluding that neither view can be rejected. (RB)

This study examined the effects on long-term retention of variations in intensity and of temporal parameters of arousal following a single learning trial in a paired-associate task. The subjects were 56 female university students. Intensity of arousal was manipulated by using two levels of white noise--75 decibels and 90 decibels sound pressure…

It sometimes happens that one is unable to recall a word or name that he feels he knows very well. This state of frustrated recall is referred to as a tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experience. Two experiments were devised to compare the ability of a weak trace and a decoding-failure model to predict the conditions under which TOT reports would be most…

An investigation was undertaken to determine whether highly aroused (e.g. highly anxious) students are handicapped with regard to their ability to learn through deep processing and elaboration. The hypothesis that well-developed deep and elaborative habits of thought might counteract the disruptive effects that excessive arousal has upon students…

College students learned artificial grammar under two conditions: paired associate learning (PA), and observation of exemplars (OBS). OBS induced abstract representation of the rules of grammar. PA produced very different learning--subjects knew some whole items but detected little structure. Grammar was learned largely by analogy rather than…

Two studies were performed to investigate the effects of material and task variations in the acquisition of cognitive learning strategies. Groups of undergraduate students were taught to use mental imagery, meaningful elaboration, and grouping. The type of training task or the order of training and test materials differed for each of the…

People sometimes forget a name or a word, and are plagued by the feeling that the sought-for word is somewhere in memory but not immediately available. The frequent description of this tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon as subthreshold memory traces is challenged by data showing that TOT genesis and TOT recovery are distinct processes. In a verbal…

This investigation examined the effects of mediation and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores on conceptual learning for black college students. It was predicted that higher IQ scoring subjects would not outperform lower IQ scoring subjects under nonmediated learning conditions but would significantly outperform lower IQ scoring subjects under…

Six experiments were intended to characterize more completely a phenomenon found when lists were first learned in isolation and then placed together for simultaneous learning. The subjects learned three lists, each list clearly distinguishable from the other. One of the lists was recalled, another was tested for frequency information, and the…

The effects of elaboration instructions and imagery characteristics of verbal material on learning of Malay--English word pairs were investigated, as well as the moderating effects of individual differences. Results reflect aptitude X treatment interactions and the importance of individual differences in planning instructional methods. (Author/JAC)

Two methodological issues involved in determining the relationship between learning and general intelligence were examined: (1) the use of learning strategies in a paired-associate task and (2) the importance of time (rather than errors) in the measurement of learning efficiency. (Author/RD)

Three studies were performed to investigate the effects of training versus instructions in the acquisition of cognitive learning strategies. Groups of undergraduate students were taught to use one or more strategies. The amount and type of training differed for each of the experimental groups. Strategies taught included the method of loci,…