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Serial position effects in implicit memory for multiple-digit numbers

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Abstract

Serial position effects in implicit and explicit memory were investigated in a short-term memory task. A study list composed of four, spatially distributed, two-digit numbers was presented, followed by an item recognition task (explicit test) and an implicit memory task in which participants were asked to verify a simple addition equation where the presented answer was either primed or not primed by one of the number pairs in the study list. Similar serial position effects were observed in explicit and implicit memory, with faster response times for correct decisions on the first than on the later list positions. The presence of a primacy effect but no recency effect is consistent with previous studies of explicit memory with visual presentation. The results suggest that similar principles of temporal information processing govern priming and episodic short-term memory.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Norwegian Research Council (MH). We thank David Geary and Irving Koch for constructive comments on a previous version of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University Of Oslo, PO Box 1094, 0317, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Ruth K. Raanaas & Svein Magnussen

  2. Centre for Advanced Study, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway

    Svein Magnussen

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  1. Ruth K. Raanaas
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  2. Svein Magnussen
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Correspondence to Ruth K. Raanaas.

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Raanaas, R.K., Magnussen, S. Serial position effects in implicit memory for multiple-digit numbers. Psychological Research 70, 26–31 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-004-0185-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-004-0185-6

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