The bizarre sentence effect as a function of list length and complexity

Abstract

Previous research has consistently shown that bizarre sentences are recalled better than common ones in mixed lists. It is unclear whether list length or sentence complexity affects these results. In the present study, we attempted to define the critical point at which the interacting conditions of list length and sentence complexity produce or fail to produce the bizarre sentence effect (BSE). We utilized a factorial design composed of two sentence-length and three mixed list-length conditions. The BSE was consistently found for each list length in the simple sentence condition but not in the complex sentence condition. © 1990, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.