Two experiments investigated the learning of sentences whose words differed in their pre-experimental strength of association. Exp. I (N = 12) compared the short-term retention of 2 synonymous, noun-is-adjective sentences, one having a strong association between noun and adjective (Knife is sharp) with one having a weaker association (Knife is cutting). Sentences having strong associations were better retained (p < .01). Exp. II (N = 22) compared noun-is-adjective sentences having wider ranges of pre-experimental associative strengths. A significant relation between short-term retention and associative strength was found, and the magnitude of the differences seemed surprisingly large.
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