Abstract
Problems involved in scaling the output regularities observed in free recall are outlined, and assumptions underlying attempted solutions for both categorized and “unrelated” lists are discussed. Several studies that make claims for the superiority of particular measures have indeed demonstrated that it matters which index is selected, but they are shown to provide no justification for preferring one to another. Evidence from simulation studies, however, suggests that a number of measures have “built-in” correlations with theoretically relevant variables such as recall. Some of these biases have proved elusive because their appearance is confined to nonrandom output sequences. The relation between theoretical assumptions and simulation studies is discussed.
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Todman, J.B. Scaling of output regularities in free recall: A review. Current Psychology 3, 46–60 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686523
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686523