Forward and backward continuations were studied in a sequential number-production task. 30 psychology students produced series of 300 numbers from the set 1 to 10. Backward continuations such as ‘6,5’ occurred at least as frequently as forward continuations such as ‘5,6’. Considerable differences between both types of continuations were found for different positions on the ‘scale’ of numbers 1 to 10. Backward continuations occurred more frequently in low number positions, forward continuations occurred more frequently in high number positions. Results were discussed in terms of the associative strength and serial-position hypotheses. The latter hypothesis can better explain the data.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AschS. E.EbenholtzS. M.The principle of associative symmetry. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 1962, 106, 135–163.
2.
EvansF. J.Monitoring attention deployment by random number generation: An index to measure subjective randomness. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 1978, 12, 35–38.
3.
HarcumE. R.Serial learning and paralearning: Control processes in serial acquisition. New York: Wiley, 1975.
4.
KuhlJ.SchönpflugW.Ordnungsverhalten, Lärmbelastung und Persönlichkeit. Psychological Research, 1974, 37, 143–176.
5.
Van ParrerenC. F.Psychologie van het leren I. Deventer, The Netherlands: van Loghum Slaterus, 1971.
6.
WagenaarW. A.Sequential response bias. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Soesterberg, The Netherlands: Institute for Perception TNO, 1972.
7.
WiegersmaS.A control theory of sequential response production. Psychological Research, 1982, 44, 175–188.
8.
YoungR. K.Serial learning. In DixonT. R.HortonD. L. (Eds.), Verbal behavior and general behavior theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Pp. 122–148.
