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The Claparède phenomenon: A further example in amnesics, a demonstration of a similar effect in normal people with attenuated memory, and a reinterpretation

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Abstract

Three amnesics and four controls were asked to find hidden objects in cartoon drawings, and their success rate and search speed were noted over five learning trials. When latency on the first trial was equated in the two groups, amnesics were shown to learn the location of the test objects less rapidly than controls. Savings scores at seven weeks were similar in the two groups when amount of exposure during learning was equivalent. At seven weeks amnesics failed to recognize items that they were able to show savings on in terms of speed of search (the Claparede phenomenon), but a similar effect was demonstrated in the control group when tested some 17 months later. The implications of the results for various retrieval-deficit views of the amnesic syndrome were discussed.

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Meudell, P., Mayes, A. The Claparède phenomenon: A further example in amnesics, a demonstration of a similar effect in normal people with attenuated memory, and a reinterpretation. Current Psychological Research 1, 75–88 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02684480

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