Abstract
Different groups of subjects were presented with mixed lists consisting of 25 low-frequency words and 25 high-frequency words. Each subject received a five-trial sequence in which the first and fourth trials were study trials and the fifth trial was a test. This critical test trial involved free recall, recognition with an equal number of target words and distractor words randomly mixed, or recognition with all target words tested prior to testing distractor words. Trials 2 and 3 in the sequence were study trials, paced oral recall trials, or paced oral recognition trials without distractors. The total time required to complete the first four trials was constant regardless of whether Trials 2 and 3 involved study presentations, free recall tests, or distractor-free recognition tests. Typical word-frequency effects were replicated, but neither recognition nor recall on Trial 5 varied as a function of the different study or test requirements imposed during Trials 2 and 3.
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Wallace, W.P., Page, K.A. Recognition test trials without distractors: A comparison of test trials and study trials on recognition and recall. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 20, 245–248 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334829
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334829