Intralist Distractors and Recall Direction: Constraints on Models of Memory for Serial Order

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Shu Chen Li - , University of Oklahoma (Author)
  • Stephan Lewandowsky - , University of Oklahoma (Author)

Abstract

The serial-order version of the theory of distributed associative memory (TODAM; S. Lewandowsky & B.B. Murdock, 1989) predicts that disruption of forward serial recall should leave backward recall largely unaffected. This article reports 4 experiments in which the effects of an intralist distractor task were compared for forward and backward serial recall. Regardless of whether subjects could anticipate recall direction at study, the distractor task was found to disrupt forward but not backward recall. Although the existence of that dissociation had been predicted by TODAM, the theory was unable to provide a quantiative account of the data. Instead we provide a retrieval-based account within the framework of temporal distinctiveness theory.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)895-908
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
Volume19
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Jul 1993
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-8409-5390/work/158767943