Differences in recall and number of trials to criterion between incidental learning groups and control groups of undergraduate students when memorizing CVC trigrams of high or low intralist similarity were investigated in this study. Results indicate that incidental learning did occur and suggest that incidental learning facilitates intentional…

Instructions were given to first and sixth graders to use an imagery-retrieval strategy in recalling 18 paired associates. (SS)

Children and adults learned associations between line length and color. Subjects were then presented with pairs of colors and asked to choose the color that had been associated with the longer line. For all ages, choice reaction times were related to differences in, and ratios of, line lengths. (BC)

Mild memory impairment was detected in 28% of a sample of healthy community-dwelling older adults using the delayed recall trial of a word list learning task. Statistical analysis revealed that individuals with memory impairment also demonstrated relative deficits on other measures of memory, and tests of executive function, processing speed and…

Five experiments were conducted to address the question of whether source information could be accessed in the absence of being able to recall an item. The authors used a paired-associate learning paradigm in which cue-target word pairs were studied, and target recall was requested in the presence of the cue. When target recall failed,…

Two variations of a vocal paired-stimulus preference assessment were evaluated to determine whether the verbal reports of preference, given by individuals with developmental disabilities when no access to the activity was given, matched their verbal reports when access to the activity was given contingent on their choice. The results indicated…

Extends the investigation of memory assessment to a situation in which memory performance on paired associate tasks varied with the use of different memory strategies. Subjects were 72 first, third, and fifth graders. (Author/MP)

The relationship between complexity of learning strategy and performance of paired associate learning of 29 verbally gifted students (9-14 years old) was investigated. A comparison of strategies with those reported by nongifted students did not disclose qualitative differences. Gifted subjects did demonstrate great speed in acquiring and retaining…

Twenty-eight first grade children were taught letter-sound correspondences according to massed and spaced formats. Used a paired associated format that required the children to produce the appropriate sounds in response to visually presented letters. (HOD)

Two experiments on how symmetrical difficulty factors (word familiarity and concreteness) affect stages of associative learning are reported. Learning parameters reacted in a qualitatively similar manner to stimulus and response manipulations. Paired associate items are represented in memory as unitary traces rather than as separate stimulus and…

Determined that kindergarten children needed more trials to learn a list of similar than dissimilar words but made fewer overgeneralization errors on subsequent transfer tasks. (HOD)

This study examined correlations between hard (low-associate) and easy (high-associate) verbal paired associates and episodic and semantic memory in a mixed clinical sample of 91 male veterans. The study concludes that hard paired-associate learning should not be presumed to measure episodic memory selectively. (SLD)

Objective: Prior research suggests that individuals with ADHD overestimate their performance across domains despite performing more poorly in these domains. The authors introduce measures of accuracy from the larger realm of judgment and decision making--namely, relative accuracy and calibration--to the study of self-evaluative judgment accuracy…

Improvements in 5- and 7-year-olds' acquisition and retention of related concept pairings were examined when additional similarities and differences between pair members were provided. Using a standard paired-associate learning paradigm, children learned 18 related picture pairs; some of the children either were given or produced additional…

Ninety fourth-graders were assessed as either high or low test anxious and randomly assigned to one of three treatments. After treatment, students were tested on a paired associate learning task and a second anxiety measure. Results are discussed. (Author/MT)