Reverse-interference effect in free recall.
D. J. Burns (1989) demonstrated that free recall of second-list response terms was better in an interference (A-B, A-C) condition than in a control (D-B, A-C) condition. This reversal of the traditional interference effect was referred to as the reverse-interference effect. Results from Experiments 2-4 in this article discounted several possible explanations of the reverse-interference effect, and the results from Experiment 5-7 supported a stimulus accessibility account of the reverse-interference effect. That is, when asked for free recall of the response terms, participants covertly retrieved stimulus terms to serve as cues for the responses. The reverse-interference effect reflects the greater accessibility of stimulus terms in the interference condition than in the control condition.
Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267, USA. athapar@williams.edu
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Thapar
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010153:Paired-Associate Learning; D011930:Reaction Time; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012660:Semantics