Abstract
Subjects were presented a page of words containing either two or four words per line. A single word (target) on each line was to be learned. Results showed that, as in an earlier experiment (Perlmuter & Monty, 1982), directing attention to background words by allowing subjects to choose the target words enhanced the learning of background and target items. Moreover, when subjects were permitted to select their targets by rejecting those that they did not wish to learn, overall performance was even better than when choice was permitted. Thus, the earlier observations of the interrelatedness of target and background learning were extended and show that such joint learning can be greatly enhanced by giving the subject the opportunity to choose or reject target words. Possible reasons for these observations were discussed.
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This research was supported in part by grants from the U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory Behavioral Research Directorate and the Veterans Administration. Thanks go to Janet England and Alan Feiner for assistance with data analyses. Victor Hoffman provided assistance with computer programs and analyses; his help is gratefully acknowledged. Robert A. Goodale of Boston State College graciously provided laboratory space and access to subjects. Special thanks go to Deborah Birkmire, Malekah Hakami, Robert Karsh, Wayne Shebilske, and Harvey A. Taub for constructive reviews of earlier versions of this manuscript.
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Monty, R.A., Perlmuter, L.C., Libon, D. et al. More on contextual effects on learning and memory. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 20, 293–296 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330105
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330105