Interresponse times in serial recall: Effects of intraserial repetition

Abstract

The authors examined the effects of intraserial repetition on multitrial serial learning of random consonant lists, analyzing both learning rates and perfect trial inten-esponse times (IRTs). Lists varied along 3 dimensions: list length, presence or absence of a repeated element, and lag between repeated elements. After achieving a forward-recall criterion on a given list, participants (N = 20) attempted backward recall. At small lags, IRTs between the repeated elements were very short (compared with IRTs from identical positions in nonrepetition lists). At larger lags, the IRT to recall the second repeated item was substantially longer than in control lists. These results reveal a latency analogue of the Ranschburg pattern seen in accuracy data. A Ranschburg pattern was also found in participants ' learning rates. These results both generalize the Ranschburg phenomenon and present further challenges to theories of serial order memory. Analysis of response times (RTs) has been of great value in discerning the regularities of human memory (see Kahana & Loftus, 1999, for a review). Sternberg (1966, 1969) demonstrated the value of RT data in studies of short-term item recognition. Although it is more difficult to measure RTs in recall tasks, thes