Abstract
The effects of part-set cues were compared in free-recall and nonfree-recall retention tasks. During word presentation in Experiment 1, subjects read or completed fragments of list members. Output tasks were either fragment-completion or free-recall tests, both of which were cued or uncued. Although part-set cues inhibited recall, they did not influence fragment completion. Absence of negative cuing effects in fragment completion is contrary to research reported by Peynircioglu (1989) and suggests that cues are inhibitory when items are retrieved relationally but not when items are retrieved individually. Or, alternatively, cues may only be inhibitory when subjects consciously attempt retrieval. To test this idea, in Experiment 2, subjects were given indirect- or direct-memory associative tests, which were compared with free recall. In the indirect test, subjects were given stimulus words and were asked to provide a free associate for each; in the direct test, subjects were asked to recall an appropriate list member for each stimulus word. Part-set cues reduced recall but did not influence performance on either of the associative tasks. Overall, these results suggest that negative cuing is more likely to occur when items are retrieved relationally rather than individually.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Basden, D. R., Basden, B. H., & Galloway, B. C. (1977). Inhibition with part-list cuing: Some tests of the item strength hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory, 3, 100–108.
Basden, D. R., & Draper, J. S. (1973). Effect of cuing with list members in free recall as a function of number of categories, taxonomic frequency, and presentation order. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 27, 327–333.
Gardiner, J. M. (1988). Generation and priming effects in word-fragment completion. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 14, 495–501.
Nickerson, R. S. (1984). Retrieval inhibition from part-set cuing: A persisting enigma in memory research. Memory & Cognition, 12, 531–552.
Palermo, D. S., & Jenkins, J. J. (1964). Word association norms: Grade school through college. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Peynircioglu, Z. F. (1989). Part-set cuing effect with word-fragment cuing: Evidence against the strategy disruption and increased-list-length explanations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 15, 147–152.
Rundus, D. (1973). Negative effects of using list items as recall cues. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 12, 43–50.
Schacter, D. L. (1987). Implicit memory: History and current status. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 13, 501–518.
Slamecka, N. J. (1968). An examination of trace storage in free recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76, 504–513.
Tulving, E., Schacter, D. L., & Stark, H. A. (1982). Priming effects in word-fragment completion are independent of recognition memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory, 8, 336–342.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Preparation of this article was supported in part by a Faculty Development Grant awarded to Barbara H. Basden. Portions of this research were reported by Barbara A. Church at the Joint Convention of the Rocky Mountain and Western Psychological Associations, April 28, 1989.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Basden, B.H., Basden, D.R., Church, B.A. et al. Setting boundary conditions on the part-set cuing effect. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 29, 213–216 (1991). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03342681
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03342681