Abstract
There have been two procedures used to demonstrate the influence of retroactive inhibition (RI) on incidentally learned items: (a) two groups are exposed to the same material and one group is instructed to learn while the other is not; (b) two groups, presented with two simultaneous classes of stimuli, are instructed to learn only one but later tested for retention of both. A previous replication of a study using the latter procedure yielded negative results. The present paper criticizes this study on statistical grounds. Based upon the performance of 15 experimental and 15 control Ss, the data did not show RI influences on incidentally learned items. It is suggested that procedure (b) is possibly a fruitless research approach.
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