Stimulus selection and the redundant-trigram model of paired-associate learning

Abstract

College Ss acquired paired associates (PAs) consisting of redundant trigrams (trigrams with no repeated letters) paired with single-digit responses, whereupon they were tested for single-letter selection and quizzed as to how they had learned each P A. The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not college Ss process redundant trigrams on the basis of their initial characteristics to any significant extent. The results showed that a significant number of the trigrams were indeed processed on the basis of the initials they spelled out. It was argued that the occurrence of initial selection makes the redundant-trigram model a less useful research model than was heretofore supposed.