Abstract
Four studies examined the MP-DP effect (spacing effect) in four quite different situations: recognition of letters, verbal discrimination, short free recall lists, and recall of MP items presented twice, with an intervening interval inserted to produce forgetting. MP-DP differences were found in all studies. Of particular interest were three interactions. Subjects with a low criterion of responding in the letter study lost the MP-DP effect over a 30-sec delay, and subjects with a high criterion did not. A clear MP-DP effect, but no lag effect, was found only with unmixed verbal discrimination lists. In free recall, a sharp lag effect was shown for words presented three times but not for words presented twice. A forgetting interval inserted between the two occurrences of an MP item did not appreciably aid its recall. The results were found to pose severe problems for current theoretical ideas about the spacing effect.
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This research was supported by the Personnel and Training Research Programs, Psychological Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research, under Contract N00014-67-A-0356-0033, Contract Authority Identification NR 154-371. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government.
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Underwood, B.J., Kapelak, S.M. & Malmi, R.A. The spacing effect: Additions to the theoretical and empirical puzzles. Memory & Cognition 4, 391–400 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213195
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213195