Abstract
Long-term memory for position was examined from the perspective of an immediate memory framework, the perturbation model of Estes (Estes, 1972; Lee & Estes, 1977, 1981). First, a simple version of the perturbation model is shown to provide a reasonable fit of previously reported long-term data (Nairne, 1990b), eventhough the perturbation idea was developed to explain the phenomena of immediate retention. Second, new results are reported that extend the application to multiple dimensions. Long-term memories for list and within-list position appear to mimic the classic patterns of immediate retention, in that both show bow-shaped serial position curves and error generalization gradients that are roughly symmetrical around the true serial position.
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Nairne, J.S. Positional uncertainty in long-term memory. Memory & Cognition 19, 332–340 (1991). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197136
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197136