POSTSTIMULUS OUTPUT SPECIFICATION AND DIFFERENTIAL RETRIEVAL FROM SHORT-TERM MEMORY

Presented once, on each of 8 trials, different pairs of lists of unrelated words and numbers to 253 undergraduates with instructions to memorize both lists. Recall instructions given after the last item of the 2nd input specified 1 of 4 recall outputs: 0, numbers only or words only; F, numbers 1st, then words; S, words 1st, then numbers. Exp. I-III showed that for the 2nd input, recall is superior under Condition 0. Exp. IV and V showed that the superioty of Condition 0 is not present if the words and numbers are input contemporally in a mixed list. Findings are interpreted as evidence that independently of acquisition variables, there are events during retrieval that affect short-term recall significantly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.