Abstract
Children in the fourth and sixth grades searched memory sets of two, three, or four items for the presence of a given word or picture probe. The memory sets were all of one form on any trial, being either words or easily nameable pictures, and the probe form was varied to match or mismatch the form of the memory items. Subjects responded more rapidly when the probe form and memory set form matched, an effect that did not interact with the number of memory set items. Presumably, stimulus form effects are limited to encoding processes which precede comparisons between the probe and memory set items. The comparison process itself appears to be independent of the form in which the probe is presented.
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This research was supported in part by Grant MH-24637-o1 from the National Institute of Mental Health and Grant NIE-G77-0010 from the National Institute of Education to the fourth author. The project presented or reported herein was performed pursuant to a grant from the National Institute of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. However, the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the National Institute of Education, and no official endorsement by the National Institute of Education should be inferred.
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Mcdermott, D.A., Young, M.E., Gilford, R.M. et al. Memory search processes for words and pictures in elementary school children. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 10, 83–84 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329287
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329287