Lists of 24 unrelated words were learned under conditions varying in sequential consistency of input order across successive trials, and under blocked ('grouping') presentation of 4-word subsets as well as under typical successive presentation. Sequential consistency and presentation did not interact with each other but showed very different patterns. Increased sequential consistency produced better free recall and more output-output organization, as well as decreased priority of recall of newly learned items. Blocked and successive presentation did not produce different levels of free recall, but blocked presentation produced more input-output as well as output-output organization, less priority of newly learned items, and stronger primacy and recency effects. Input order is concluded to be an important general determinant of organization in free recall.

This paper presents a program for the analysis of subjective organization in free recall and the instructions for the organization of data to use this program. The program is capable of handling lists of up to 40 items, as well as 20 trials of data. In addition, the program provides several types of data tables for unit sizes from 2 to 10 items in length and for three types of sequential ordering criteria.

Studied 120 undergraduates in a paired-associate learning experiment in which response formal similarity (high and low) was orthogonally varied across paired-associate lists conforming to A-B, A-D and A-B, C-D paradigms. Both List 1 and List 2 acquisitions showed significant intralist interference produced by high formal similarity. No evidence was found for transfer facilitation as a function of List 1 high similarity. Several measures of retention showed significantly less retroactive inhibition under conditions of List 1 high similarity, whereas List 2 high similarity significantly increased retroactive inhibition. These effects of similarity upon retention were found in both paradigms. Retention results support W. Battig's intratask-interference hypothesis. 3 paired-associate subprocesses were identified with the superior retention performance. Clustering analyses of an uncued free recall test also showed significant paradigm differences with respect to recall organization. (26 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

A general procedure that can be applied to any type of free recall data for the quantitative measurement of subjective organization intertrial repetitions (ITRs) is described. The procedure makes it possible to examine any unit size with any type of internal consistency criterion. The application of this procedure and the corresponding expected value formula to four distinct data measurement cases is described, and several applied subjective organization measures are discussed. In addition, the relationship of clustering as a special case of subjective organization is demonstrated.