Abstract
A partial report technique was used to test for the effects of both immediate (specific) and lasting (general) set on briefly presented visual stimuli. In the specific set, accuracy of report was better when a cue indicating the to-be-reported attribute was presented before than when it was presented either simultaneously with, or after the stimulus array—with no differences between the latter two conditions. Within the conditions where the cue either immediately preceded or immediately followed the stimulus array, no effects of delay between cue and stimulus array were found. While general set was effective in improving performance, there was no general × specific interaction, which suggests that the influence of one set operates independently of the other. The implication drawn is that the effects of general and specific sets operate on different memories.
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