Abstract
Retention of three-item lists was measured after 15 sec of interpolated activity. Recall was either prompted by the first word of a list or it was not: lists were presented after a very short or after a relatively long intertrial interval. Data from Ss differing widely in age and educational background failed to support the hypothesis that prompted recall should result in less proactive inhibition than unprompted; proactive inhibition in short-term memory may accordingly represent a deficit in storage rather than retrieval.
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Supported in part by NICHD Grant No. 5 ROI 11DOO340-09, NIMH Grant No. 5 ROI MH 08119-06 to Harvard Medical School, and NSF Grant No. B 82309R to Massachusetts General Hospital (VAOPC Project 4–68). Miss Constance Willis prepared the stimulus materials and collected the data, and Misses Anne Pope and Jane Weinert assisted in the analyses. Thanks are due to Professor Laird Cermack for his critical review of this paper. This study was conducted in collaboration with the Boston VA Outpatient Clinic, Normative Aging Study. Benjamin Bell. M D., Director.
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Fozard, J.L., Waugh, N.C. Proactive inhibition of prompted items. Psychon Sci 17, 67–68 (1969). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336447
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336447