A short-term memory experiment is reported in which S attempted to recall trigrams after a retention interval of 3 to 18 sec.; a subtraction task was performed by S during this interval. As with the similar study of Peterson and Peterson (1959), evidence was found that the probability of correct response declines during the retention interval (though to a lesser extent than previously reported). However, it is shown that the shape of the retention function is greatly changed by the method adopted for scoring the data; under the appropriate system of scoring, retention of unrehearsed items in STM is quite high.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
KeppelG.Problems of method in the study of short-term memory. Psychological Bulletin, 1965, 63, 1–13.
2.
KeppelG.UnderwoodB. J.Proactive inhibition in short-term retention of single items. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1962, 1, 153–161.
3.
MurdockB. B.The retention of individual items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1961, 62, 618–625.
4.
PetersonL. R.PetersonM.Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1959, 58, 193–198.
