The phenomenal determination of retroaction and proaction: I. Interference within pairs of a single list

Abstract

Two groups learned a paired-associate list to partial criterion. The stimulus and response items were similar for Group 1 and neutral for Group 2. Both groups were tested for stimulus and response recall 10 min and 24 h after original learning. In Group 1, stimulus recall did not change with time, but response recall decreased. To the contrary, both stimulus and response recall dropped with time in Group 2. It was concluded that the response items retroactively interfered with stimulus recall under conditions of similarity. In turn, the stimulus items seemed to recover with time to proactively interfere with response recall. Thus, retroaction and proaction have been demonstrated in the learning of a single list. © 1976, The psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.