Directionality And Organizational Processes In Paired-Associate Learning

A TRANSFER PARADIGM WAS USED WITH SS 1ST LEARNING A PAIRED-ASSOCIATE (PA) LIST AND THEN A DERIVED FREE-RECALL (FR) LIST, CONSISTING OF 1/2 THE ITEMS FROM THE PA LIST. FOR THE 16-PAIR PA TASK, SS LEARNED EITHER A STANDARD UNIDIRECTIONAL OR A BIDIRECTIONAL LIST WITH PAIRS SWITCHING DIRECTION EITHER SYSTEMATICALLY ON ALTERNATE TRIALS OR UNSYSTEMATICALLY FROM TRIAL TO TRIAL. FOLLOWING PA LEARNING, SS WERE ASSIGNED TO 1 OF 4 FR CONDITIONS CONSISTING OF 16 ITEMS MADE UP OF (1) 8 PAIRS, (2) THE VERTICAL SETS, OR (3) A MIXED SET DERIVED FROM THE PA LIST. THE FR DATA SHOWED THAT IN ADDITION TO THE FORMATION OF PAIRWISE HORIZONTAL ASSOCIATIONS, VERTICAL ORGANIZATION ALSO TAKES PLACE DURING PA LEARNING. BOTH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL-PAIRWISE ORGANIZATION FACILITATED FR. THE PA TASK INDICATED THAT UNIDIRECTIONAL LEARNING WAS GENERALLY BETTER THAN BIDIRECTIONAL LEARNING. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)