Scanning memory for multidimensional stimuli with extended practice

Memory load and the similarity between positive and negative sets were varied orthogonally in an information-reduction task which required S to respond either “yes” or “no” to the question of whether or not a visually displayed two-dimensional pattern had been contained in a previously memorized set of patterns. Six Sa were given 8 days of practice. The results showed that throughout practice, there was a significant increase in reaction time with increaaes in the similarity of positive and neptive sets. The memory load differences sipificantly decreaaed to zero with practice, and this drop was independent of the similarity effect.. It was concluded that extended practice influences memory load differences and effects that reflect the complexity of the memory comparison process differentially.