Facilitation of retrieval by perceptual structure

Summary The effectiveness of a part of a stimulus as a retrieval cue for the whole is investigated in two experiments. Stimuli consisting of a series of eight colored dots were presented for 7s. In Experiment 1, the first three dots of a stimulus made up the cue. A structural compatibility between stimulus and cue was shown to enhance recall. Experiment 2 used only the first dot as a cue for the same stimuli as in Experiment 1 in order to control the possible alternative prediction based on Garner's work that the effect was due to a difference in complexity of stimuli, regardless of compatibility with the cue. The compatibility predictions are derived from a model based on a hierarchy principle by Buffart.