CONDITIONS OF RECOVERY AFTER UNLEARNING

Examined the conditions and characteristics of the recovery of 1st-list associations following the end of interpolated learning (IL) in 5 experiments on retroactive inhibition. Exp. I-IV used 8 groups of 18 undergraduates each, and Exp. V used 6 groups of 18 Ss each. In Exp. I-IV, recovery was studied as a function of the paradigm of transfer and the temporal arrangement of original learning (OL), IL, and the test of recall (modified-modified free recall). Ss learned 3 successive paired-associate lists conforming to either the A-B, A-C, A-D or A-B, C-D, E-F paradigm. Recovery depended critically on an adequate degree of OL. The increases in 1st-list recall were comparable for the 2 paradigms. Greater changes in performance were produced by manipulation of the temporal point of interpolation than of the IL-test interval. In Exp. V, recovery of backward associations was investigated under the A-B, C-B, and A-B, B-C paradigms, and a trend toward recovery was found only for the latter. Results are viewed as consistent with the hypothesis that recovery reflects primarily the dissipation of response set interference, i.e., of the tendency established during IL to suppress the responses from earlier lists. (28 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.