Associative factors in free recall

An experiment on the free recall of 18-word lists is reported in which variations were made in associative frequency, word frequency and the number, and therefore size, of the presented groups. Recall efficiency was positively related to increasing associative frequency and larger presented group size. Measures of clustering were obtained along with subjects' own reports on the associative labels helpful to them in organizing their recall. A two-level storage model is proposed to account for the results.     

Associative retrieval processes in free recall

I present a new method for analyzing associative processes in free recall. While previous research has emphasized the prominence of semantic organization, the present method illustrates the importance of association by contiguity. This is done by examining conditional response probabilities in the output sequence. For a given item recalled, I examine the probability and latency that it follows an item from a nearby or distant input position. These conditional probabilities and latencies, plotted as a function of the lag between studied items, reveal several regularities about output order in free recall. First, subjects tend to recall items more often and more rapidly from adjacent input positions than from remote input positions. Second, subjects are about twice as likely to recall adjacent pairs in the forward than in the backward direction and are significantly faster in doing so. These effects are observed at all positions in the output sequence. The asymmetry effect is theoretically significant because, in cued recall, nearly symmetric retrieval is found at all serial positions (Kahana, 1995; Murdock, 1962). An attempt is made to fit the search of associative memory model (Raaijmakers & Shiffrin, 1980, 1981) with and without symmetric interitem associations to these data. Other models of free recall are also discussed.     

Associative asymmetry in probed recall of serial lists

For pairs of meaningful items (e.g., words), recall accuracy is nearly identical for forward and backward probes. That is, after studying an A-B pair, subjects can recall A given B as well as they can recall B given A (Kahana, 2002). To assess whether this symmetry property is unique to pairs, we investigated the effects of study direction on probed recall of word triples and serial lists. Two experiments revealed a forward-recall advantage in both triples and serial lists. In addition, compound cues produced better recall than did single-item adjacent cues, which, in turn, produced better recall than did remote cues. These findings suggest a discontinuity between the associative processes supporting memory for pairs and those supporting memory for sequences of three or more items.     

Associative vs topographical accounts of the immediate shock-freezing deficit in rats: Implications for the response selection rules governing species-specific defensive reactions

Rats were placed in a novel chamber and were given a single shock, either immediately upon placement in the chamber or after a 2-m delay. During a postshock observation period, delayed shock animals froze while immediate shock rats did not (Experiments 1–5). Additionally, delayed shock animals showed an elevation in defecation, relative to unshocked controls, while immediate shock animals did not (Experiment 1). Freezing and elevated defecation were first found with a 9-s delay between placement and shock, and both responses increased linearly with increasing delays up to at least 81 s (Experiment 2). Immediate shock rats did not show escape-related behaviors when potential escape routes were available (Experiments 3–4). A 2-m preexposure to the chamber, that was separated in time from shock, did not alleviate the immediate shock deficit (Experiments 4–5). The immediate shock deficit was also apparent in a test given 24 h after shock receipt (Experiment 6). If immediate shock rats were later given delayed shock they began to freeze but showed no carryover effects of their prior shock experience (Experiment 6). It was concluded that the immediate shock deficit reflects a deficit in association formation between contextual stimuli and shock rather than a difference in defensive behavioral topography. It also appears that freezing is the dominant conditional response to shock-associated stimuli even though freezing is not unconditionally elicited by the shock itself.     

Associative and categorical hypotheses of organization in the free recall of adults and children

Associative and categorical explanations for the organization children and adults display in free recall were tested. It was expected that young children would show output clustering as a function of associations between individual items within categories rather than relationship to the taxonomy itself. Kindergarten, fourth-grade, and tenth-grade subjects were presented with pictures representing the four factorial combinations of high and low interitem association and high and low category relatedness. Each set of pictures could be divided into four taxonomic categories of six items each. Kindergarteners displayed greater category clustering of highly associated items than weak associates. Older subjects showed sensitivity to both organizational dimensions. These data support a hypothesis that young children cluster in recall as a function of associations while older individuals show organizational flexibility which serves to facilitate greater recall.     

Inferential rules in the learning and recall of patterns of sentiments1

Subjects learned one of four patterns of like-dislike relations between members of four-person structures. They then recalled the learned structure after an interval of fifteen minutes, one week, or four weeks. One pattern of relations was balanced, one could be balanced by changing only one pair of relations, and the other two were totally unbalanced. There was clear evidence that the balance assumptions were employed in learning; for unbalanced structures, there was some evidence of the use of positivity and of source/target generalization. Subjects recalled the balanced structure more accurately than the unbalanced ones, especially over the longest time interval. However, unbalanced structures were not converted in memory to balanced ones.     

Hypermnesia in free recall and cued recall

In three experiments, categorized lists and both free recall and cued recall tests were used to examine hypermnesia. In Experiment 1, materials were drawn from obvious and nonobvious categories in an attempt to vary the amount of relational processing at encoding. The study materials in Experiment 2 consisted of a long word list that comprised several exemplars from each of a number of common categories. In Experiment 3, a single exemplar was drawn from each of 45 categories. In each experiment, similar magnitudes of hypermnesia were obtained on free and cued recall tests. Examination of the specific items recalled across tests indicated that similar processes underlie the hypermnesic effect for both test conditions. Implications of the results for extant accounts of the hypermnesic effect are discussed. It is concluded that the dynamics of retrieval processes change in a systematic fashion across repeated tests and the retention interval following study and that an adequate account of the nature of these changes in retrieval dynamics is essential to our understanding of hypermnesia and related phenomena.     

Associative and categorical processes in children's memory: The role of automaticity in the development of organization in free recall

Free recall performance was assessed in children in Grades 3, 5, 7, and 9 (Experiment 1) and adults (Experiment 2) on a list of categorically related words constructed so that some items within a category were highly associated with one another and interitem associations were low among other items (e.g., dog, cat, cow, lion, tiger). Associative relations were used frequently in recall by subjects of all ages, with analyses of interitem latencies and correlations between recall and clustering indicating that organization in recall was based only on associative relations for the third and fifth graders but based on both associative and nonassociative categorical relations for older subjects. Examination of the placement of high associates in recall indicated that seventh- and ninth-grade children were more apt to use associative relations to begin category clusters than were younger children or adults. These children were hypothesized to use the relatively automatic activation of associative relations to instigate categorical organization and to represent a stage in development between nonstrategic younger children and strategic adults. The results were discussed in terms of the role that the automatic activation of semantic memory relations may play in the development of strategic memory organization.     

The order of recall and the recall of order

Adelphi University, Garden City, Long Island, New York 11530 Four experiments are described. The first three lend support to the assertion that retrieval from short-term storage (STS) is improved, possibly to a maximum, if items are recalled in their originally presented order. In the fourth experiment a modified recall condition was introduced in which written position of recall reflected order information. Although the subject was not constrained to recall the items in order under this modified recall condition, both item and order retention increased in comparison to both free and serial recall conditions. Within the theoretical framework adopted, the results indicate that retrieval from STS is improved by recalling in order; while long-term storage (LTS) is reduced by the constraint to recall in order. However, LTS is increased by the retention of order information when recalling in order is not required.     

Vocalization-at-presentation and immediate recall, with varying recall methods

In a free recall situation, written recall is superior to spoken recall, and evidence is adduced suggesting that this may be partly due to the fact that this method of recall permits greater freedom in ordering the material. Evidence is also adduced suggesting that voicing the material at presentation gives superior recall because of a facilitatory effect on storage. This interpretation is supported by the finding that the advantage of vocalizing is not affected by prior knowledge as to whether recall is to be oral or written, and by the suggestion that vocalized lists are more resistant to intra-trial interference than nonvocalized lists. In addition, two earlier observations were confirmed: first, that the advantage of voicing is most marked at fast rates of presentation; and secondly, voicing gives rise to a higher proportion of acoustic errors relative to the number of items incorrectly attempted.     

Lability and recall

The relationships between paired-associate learning, information processing, measured by two-flash threshold, and personality variables of extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism and lie score were examined in two groups of subjects. The learning and two-flash threshold measures were significantly correlated under speeded conditions only. Findings are consistent with recent Soviet investigations on the relationship of memory and lability, and Western research involving inspection time and intelligence.     

Associative symmetry and memory theory

This article reexamines the theory and data concerning two opposing views of episodic association. The independent association hypothesis (IAH) sees associations as unidirectional and separately modifiable links between individual item representations. The associative symmetry hypothesis (ASH) sees an association as a holistic conjunction of the constituent items, blending the elements of their representations into a new one. In early tests of these hypotheses, experimenters compared forward and backward recall of paired associates, looking for asymmetries. Although some studies showed significant differences between forward and backward recall, the vast majority did not. The author of this study used a mathematical analysis of distributed memory models to reexamine this classic question. These analyses revealed that symmetric and asymmetric models can mimic each other, offering identical predictions regarding forward and backward recall. To distinguish these models, the author examined the correlation between forward and backward recall at the level of individual pairs of items. Both this correlation and the correlation between recall of pairs tested in the same direction were near unity. These results provide new evidence favoring the ASH over the IAH.     

Associative frequency and response latency

FlekkØy, K. Associative frequency and response latency. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 199–202.MdashWith 176 Norwegian subjects in a single-word free-association experiment, latency of response was found to relate more highly to the number of different words associated with a stimulus word (D), than to the response frequency of the words involved. D is therefore assumed to reflect a basic characteristic of the associative relationship between the stimulus and response words. The inverse relationship between associative frequency and latency is interpreted to mean that frequency reflects some relatively frequent order of preference of possible response words for individual subjects.     

正结合演算

从结构推理的观点来看,结合演算是一种很弱的逻辑,因为它仅容纳一种结构规则,即“结合规则”。正结合演算作为一种“正命题逻辑”,是结合演算的基础。本文构建了正结合演算结构推理系统BL和对应的公理系统B,阐述了结合演算拒斥“交换规则”、“收缩规则”和“弱化规则”的理论意义和应用价值,证明了系统BL和系统B的等价性。     

Free association,free recall,and stimulated recall compared

Three primary methods of recall (free association, free recall, stimulated recall) and two modifications of them (modified free association, modified stimulated recall) were defined by use of three variables: (a) presence or absence of prior laboratory training, (b) presence or absence of E controlled test stimulation, and (c) test instructions to free associate or to recall Data obtained from approximately 300 Ss and an earlier set of 600 revealed the differential effectiveness of all three primary methods in recall and misrecall.