Effects of search criterion upon unanticipated free recall of categorically related words

Abstract

Ss determined whether words in a list were members of a relatively general or specific category (e.g., foods vs vegetables), and then they were given an unanticipated free recall test. Assumptions were that: (1) evaluating a word against a general criterion (e.g., food) results in the detection of fewer semantic elements than would evaluating it against a specific criterion (e.g., vegetable), and (2) detecting more semantic elements primes memory. In three studies, free recall scores were highest for the specific search. Instructions to form an image or to think of an association for each word did not improve recall. Telling Ss, just before recall, what categories composed the list increased recall clustering, but not recall.