Application of a model to paired-associate learning

The proposal is made to consider a paired-associate item as becoming conditioned to its correct response in all-or-none fashion, and that prior to this conditioning event the subject guesses responses at random to an unlearned item. These simple assumptions enable the derivation of an extensive number of predictions about paired-associate learning. The predictions compare very favorably with the results of an experiment discussed below.This research was supported by a grant, M-3849, from the National Institutes of Mental Health, United States Public Health Service.