SEMANTIC STRUCTURE IN SHORT-TERM MEMORY

A SELECTED PORTION OF THE ENGLISH KINSHIP SYSTEM PROVIDED THE SEMANTIC STRUCTURE. KIN TERMS WERE DRAWN FROM A MODEL HAVING 3 DIMENSIONS OR FEATURES-SEX, GENERATION, AND LINEALITY-COLLATERALITY. 8 TERMS WERE USED IN EVERY POSSIBLE COMBINATION OF TRIADS. THESE TRIADS WERE PRESENTED TO 24 STUDENTS INSTRUCTED TO RECALL THEM ON SIGNAL. COUNTING BACKWARDS BY 3S OCCUPIED SS BETWEEN PRESENTATION AND RECALL. THE RECALL INTERVALS WERE 4, 8, AND 16 SEC. RESULTS SHOWED THAT RECALL WAS POORER FOR TRIADS IN WHICH THE TERMS DIFFERED BY ALL 3 FEATURES RATHER THAN ONLY BY 2. AN ANALYSIS OF ERRORS SHOWED THAT MORE INTRUSIONS OCCURRED WITH 3 FEATURES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.