Serial position effects in semantic memory: reconstructing the order of verses of hymns.

Full Abstract

Serial position effects (primacy and recency) have been consistently demonstrated in both short- and long-term episodic memory tasks. The search for corresponding effects in semantic memory tasks (e.g., reconstructing the order of U.S. presidents) has been confounded by factors such as differential exposure to stimuli. In the present study, the stimuli were six-verse hymns that would have been sung from the first to the last verse by churchgoers on numerous occasions. Participants were presented with the verses of each hymn in random order and were required to reconstruct the correct order. Primacy and recency effects were significantly more evident for churchgoers than for nonchurchgoers. Moreover, error gradients were steeper than chance for churchgoers but not for nonchurchgoers; in other words, churchgoers' errors were more likely to be close to the correct position than further away. These findings provide the first unequivocal demonstration of serial position effects in semantic memory.

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Author information

Author/s: Maylor, Elizabeth A (EA);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, England. elizabeth.maylor@warwick.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Psychonomic bulletin & review (Psychon Bull Rev), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Dec; vol 9 (issue 4) : pp 816-20

Dates: Created 2003/03/04; Completed 2003/07/03; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12613688, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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