Serial position curves in free recall.

2010 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Laming
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Osth ◽  
Simon Farrell

Memory models have typically characterized retrieval in free recall as multi-alternative decision making. However, the majority of these models have only been applied to mean response times (RTs), and have not accounted for the complete RT distributions. We show that RT distributions carry diagnostic information about how items enter into competition for recall, and how that competition impacts on the dynamics of recall. We jointly fit RT distributions and serial position functions of free recall initiation with both a racing diffusion model and the linear ballistic accumulator (LBA: Brown & Heathcote, 2008) model in a hierarchical Bayesian framework while factorially varying different assumptions of how primacy and recency are generated. Recency was either a power law or an exponential function. Primacy was treated either as a strength boost to the early list items so that both primacy and recency items jointly compete to be retrieved, a rehearsal process whereby the first item is sometimes rehearsed to the end of the list to make it functionally recent, or due to reinstatement of the start of the list. While serial position curves do not distinguish between these accounts, they make distinct predictions about how RT distributions vary across serial positions. Results from a number of datasets strongly favor the reinstatement account of primacy with an exponential recency function. These results suggest that models of free recall can be more constrained by considering complete RT distributions.


1970 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Buschke ◽  
Walter Kintsch

Immediate free recall of random strings of 10 numbers was studied under four experimental conditions: as each number was presented, subjects either had to recall the previous number (Recall n–1), recall the number just presented (Recall n), read the number (Read aloud), or were silent (Free Recall). Overall recall was the same in all conditions. Recall and order of recall by serial-position changed systematically, with an increasing recency and decreasing primacy effect from Free Recall through Read Aloud and Recall n to Recall n–1. These changes in recall order and serial-position curves suggest that differential rehearsal of items is decreased by requiring retrieval during presentation.


1990 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Sato

Temporal retrieval theory argues that both short-term and long-term recency effects reflect the distinctiveness of position/order information of recent items. The present study tested this proposal in both the standard immediate free-recall paradigm and the continuous-distractor paradigm. Serial-position curves of item information learned intentionally were compared to those of position/order information learned incidentally. In the immediate condition, similar recency effects were observed for item and position/order information; the correlation of item recency with position/order recency was significant. In the continuous-distractor condition, although significant recency effects were observed for item and position/order information, the correlation between them was low. These results suggest that the distinctiveness of position/order information contributes to short-term recency effects but not to long-term recency effects.


1967 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria J. Fischer

Nonsense syllables were aurally presented once at constant or variable intensities in SPL (55, 70, and/or 85 db). Free recall after instruction to learn (INT), to judge intelligibility (IRR), or to listen (INC) was unaffected. Rather, Grice and Hunter's (2) hypothesis that intensity effects in human conditioning are substantially greater in repeated measurements designs (i.e., with variable presentation), was supported only by an insubstantial trend. Serial position curves from the three learning conditions indicated a greater recency than primacy effect in recall, only for IRR. Thus, a recency effect in INC seems contingent rather upon attention being directed away from to-be-relevant aspects on the stimuli than a characteristic of INC, per se.


Author(s):  
Ryoji Nishiyama ◽  
Jun Ukita

This study examined whether additional articulatory rehearsal induced temporary durability of phonological representations, using a 10-s delayed nonword free recall task. Three experiments demonstrated that cumulative rehearsal between the offset of the last study item and the start of the filled delay (Experiments 1 and 3) and a fixed rehearsal of the immediate item during the subsequent interstimulus interval (Experiments 2 and 3) improved free recall performance. These results suggest that an additional rehearsal helps to stabilize phonological representations for a short period. Furthermore, the analyses of serial position curves suggested that the frequency of the articulation affected the durability of the phonological representation. The significance of these findings as clues of the mechanism maintaining verbal information (i.e., verbal working memory) is discussed.


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