The Prediction of Recall Patterns in Simple Active Sentences.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Prediction of Recall Patterns in Simple Active Sentences.
Authors: Clark, Herbert H., Shepard, R. N., Bell Telephone Labs., Inc., Murray Hill, NJ.
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 22
Publication Date: 1965
Report Number: MM-65-1221-5
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Educational Research, Females, High School Students, Prediction, Recall (Psychology), Secondary Education, Sentences, Verbal Learning
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to determine if the structure of a stimulus sentence--as evidenced in the recall pattern of the sentence--could be predicted from information contained in the sentence associations it elicited. Sentence associations to 20 simple sentences were collected from a group of subjects. The free recall of the same 20 sentences then was required of a second group of subjects. The variability within the sets of associations given by the first group was then correlated with the probability of correct recall of the sentences by the second group. The recall pattern of sentences grammatically equivalent to "The small boy hit the ball" was highly predictable from the sentence associations. The mean recall probabilities of the modifier, actor, verb, and object correlated highly with the mean variation of respective associated sentence modifiers, actors, verbs, and objects. In the generalized sentence the actor was the best recalled element and had the least variability in the set of sentence associations. The verb was the least recalled and exhibited the most variability. Element recall intercorrelations showed the modifier and actor were closely correlated as were the verb and object. (KB)
Notes: Archival document
Journal Code: RIEMAR1977
Entry Date: 1977
Accession Number: ED130649
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:An experiment was conducted to determine if the structure of a stimulus sentence--as evidenced in the recall pattern of the sentence--could be predicted from information contained in the sentence associations it elicited. Sentence associations to 20 simple sentences were collected from a group of subjects. The free recall of the same 20 sentences then was required of a second group of subjects. The variability within the sets of associations given by the first group was then correlated with the probability of correct recall of the sentences by the second group. The recall pattern of sentences grammatically equivalent to "The small boy hit the ball" was highly predictable from the sentence associations. The mean recall probabilities of the modifier, actor, verb, and object correlated highly with the mean variation of respective associated sentence modifiers, actors, verbs, and objects. In the generalized sentence the actor was the best recalled element and had the least variability in the set of sentence associations. The verb was the least recalled and exhibited the most variability. Element recall intercorrelations showed the modifier and actor were closely correlated as were the verb and object. (KB)