Memory for Intratrial Events in Learning Disjunctive Concepts: Implications for Hypothesis-Testing Models

The present experiment was designed to further investigate the adequacy of hypothesis-testing models to account for how concepts are acquired. Disjunctive concept formation tasks were administered to 75 college students to examine predictions of hypothesis-testing theory concerning memory for intratrial events. The different events explored were hypotheses, responses, feedback, and stimuli. A 4 × 4 × 3 within-subjects design was employed in which question type, number of intratrial events recalled, and percentage of trials with memory probe were the factors. A major finding was the failure of students to recall the hypothesis stated on previous trials, under certain conditions, which contradicts predictions based on hypothesis-testing theories. Implications for opposing frequency theory are discussed.