Mediation Effects In Verbal Chaining Paradigms As A Function Of Associative Strength And Number Of Stages

Demonstrated a mediated facilitation effect for an A-B, B-C, C-D, A-D extended chaining paradigm with 2 levels of B-C associative strength. Results of 2 experiments with 112 and 120 undergraduates indicate that (a) the magnitude of the effect increased as a function of increasing the strength of Stage 2 associations, (b) the mediated facilitation effect was less in magnitude for the extended chaining paradigm than for a comparable 3-stage paradigm, and (c) the use of S-paced test intervals on Stage 4 of the extended chaining paradigm did not lead to a significant enhancement of the mediation effect. A mediated interference effect was not observed. Results are discussed in terms of the possible role of memory in mediation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)