Four possible mechanisms for short-term item recognition are distinguished. Manipulations of recency, particularly of negative probe items, provide critical tests. Two experiments were conducted using Sternberg's varied-set reaction time paradigm, coupled with procedures intended to minimize rehearsal and control the recency of probes and memory…

In this study, a procedure was devised to experimentally separate the spatial and temporal task components of a serial-position recall task in an attempt to account for the primacy effect observed in experiments using this paradigm with young children and retarded subjects. A total of 48, 5- to 7-year-old, children were tested in a serial-position…