Abstract
The effects of context on the learning of specific items in a list was studied by embedding 15 words from three categories in lists containing 15 additional items from the same three categories. These additional items were either high- or low-level associates to the category names. p]A three-trial study, using 48 college students, showed enhanced recall on Trials 1 and 2 of experimental words when embedded in the list containing words of low associative level. The results were interpreted as evidence for a contextual dependency view of item learning and a result of the effects of a limited processing capacity.
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I wish to thank Joann Ferrara for her help with the data and Sheila Chase for her sponsorship of this paper.
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Manning, S.K. An effect of context on free recall of categorized words. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 4, 405–406 (1974). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336734
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336734