Serial reconstruction of order and serial recall in verbal short-term memory

A series of experiments was carried out on verbal short-term memory for lists of words. In the first experiment, participants were tested via immediate serial recall and word frequency and list set size were manipulated. With closed lists the same set of items was repeatedly sampled, with open lists no item was presented more than once. In serial recall, effects of word frequency and set size were found. When a serial reconstruction of order task was used, in a second experiment, robust effects of word frequency emerged but set size failed to show an effect. The effect of word frequency in order reconstruction were further examined in two final experiments. The data from these experiments revealed that the effects of word frequency are robust and are apparently not exclusively indicative of output processes. A multiple mechanisms account is adopted in which word frequency can influence both retrieval and pre-retrieval processes

Effect of mnemonic variables on function and category learning

The role of memory for instances in concept learning was investigated by examining the effects of mnemonic variables on performance in the function and category learning domains. Experiments 1 and 2 examined list-length and serial-position effects in a function learning task under conditions in which stimulus and response magnitudes were functionally related or randomly paired. List-length and serial-position effects were observed in the random-mapping condition but not in the functional-mapping condition. Experiment 3 examined the effects of list length and serial position on the categorization of two-dimensional stimuli. The relationship between dimensions was either predictive of category membership (consistent-mapping condition) or was not predictive of membership (random-mapping condition). An effect of list length was obtained in the latter but not the former condition. Serial position effects were evident for the short list-length conditions but not the long list-length conditions. These findings generally support the contention that when relational information was not available or predictive (random-mapping conditions), participants relied on memory for individual instances and standard mnemonic effects emerged. For conditions in which relational information was available and predictive (functional- and consistent-mapping conditions), results suggest that participants abstracted and applied a summary rule or relation, thereby eliminating mnemonic effects of list length and serial position. Extrapolation data further support the view that rules were abstracted when relational information was available

Recognition of Exceptions and Rule-Consistent Items in the Function Learning Domain

Recent studies suggest that participants commonly abstract rules when learning concepts, but a remaining question is whether they retain and apply knowledge of individual instances subsequent to rule abstraction. Research in the category learning domain indicates that exemplar information is retained and that exceptions to a category rule have special status in memory (Palmed & Nosofsky, 1995). The present experiment examines whether these findings extend to function learning. Participants learned associations between stimulus and response magnitudes that were related according to a negative linear function. Twelve stimulus-response pairs were given, some consistent with the negative linear rule, others exceptions to the rule. After each of six training sessions, previously studied stimulus magnitudes were presented as tests of learning accuracy. Participants were also given extrapolation trials followed by a final recognition test that included old and new rule-congruent and rule-incongruent items. Extrapolation was extensive. In addition, analyses revealed poorer learning and recognition for exceptions than for rule-congruent items, plus a high rate of false alarms for new rule-congruent items. These findings suggest that although the conceptual knowledge acquired in function learning tasks centers on rules, exceptions to these rules do not have special status in memory

Mastery Quizzing

Research promotes frequent quizzing, as well as the use of feedback, to enhance learning. We assessed a method that combines these techniques known as mastery quizzing (i.e., taking quizzes with feedback until the learner achieves a perfect score). Across four experiments, we explored how mastery quizzing contributes to learners’ retention of information and whether this method is more effective than traditional quizzing. Overall, results supported mastery quizzing as a superior strategy relative to standard quizzing techniques, even when controlling for feedback and using longer retention intervals (i.e., 2 days)