Abstract
Anagram solution was investigated as a function of the frequency of occurrence of target words in an immediately preceding, and presumably unrelated, word-completion task. Word recall in that task was found to be a negatively accelerated function of the frequency of occurrence. Anagram solution, however, was found to be inversely related to recall (recalled words were reliably less likely to be solved) and also, although not reliably, to the frequency of recurrence of target words in the prior task. These results are interpreted as suggesting that cognition, at least under some circumstances and as measured by recall, may be inversely related to transfer and, more generally, that cognitive factors need to be supplemented by noncognitive factors in the interpretation of learning and transfer.
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This work was supported in part by a Research Career Award from the National Institute of Mental Health and a grant from the Army Research Institute for Behavioral and Social Sciences. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army. Thanks are due Joan Girnis, psychology teacher at Naples (Florida) High School, for making her two classes available for this research, which was conducted in accordance with approved safeguards. James Broyles assisted in preparation of test materials, and Kathleen Marx assisted in the collection and analysis of the data.
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Marx, M.H. Effects of frequency of prior incidental occurrence and recall of target words on anagram solution. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 19, 253–255 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330248
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330248