UNLEARNING, SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY, AND THE PARTIAL-REINFORCEMENT EFFECT IN PAIRED-ASSOCIATE LEARNING
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
1-1-1967
Abstract
TESTED 2 IMPLICATIONS OF THE EXTINCTION MODEL OF UNLEARNING. THE MODEL PREDICTS THAT A-B ASSOCIATIONS, AFTER THE LEARNING OF A-C, SHOULD RECOVER STRENGTH SPONTANEOUSLY WITH TIME AND SHOULD RESIST UNLEARNING BETTER WHEN PRACTICED UNDER PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT (REDUCED OCCURRENCE OF RESPONSE MEMBERS-% ORM). AVAILABILITY OF B AND C RESPONSES WAS MEASURED AFTER 1 MIN., 24 HR., OR 48 HR. BY THE MODIFIED FREE RECALL TECHNIQUE. WHILE CONTROL SS (A-B ONLY) SHOWED SLIGHT FORGETTING OVER THE RETENTION INTERVAL, EXPERIMENTAL SS IMPROVED THEIR RECALL OF LIST 1 RESPONSES. LIST 1 RESPONSES WERE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO BE GIVEN 1ST IN DELAYED RECALL. LEARNING UNDER 50% ORM WAS SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN UNDER 100% ORM, BUT SEEMED TO PRODUCE GREATER RESISTANCE TO INTERFERENCE FROM THE 2ND LIST. NEITHER ONLY-LIST NOR 2ND-LIST AVAILABILITY WAS AFFECTED BY % ORM. THUS BOTH HYPOTHESES SEEM TO BE SUPPORTED. AN INTERPRETATION WAS OFFERED OF THE ORM EFFECT IN TERMS OF GREATER RESISTANCE TO UNLEARNING OF 1ST-LIST CONTEXT UNDER 50% ORM. (20 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1967 American Psychological Association.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Journal of Experimental Psychology
Volume
73
Issue
1
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Silverstein, Albert. "UNLEARNING, SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY, AND THE PARTIAL-REINFORCEMENT EFFECT IN PAIRED-ASSOCIATE LEARNING." Journal of Experimental Psychology 73, 1 (1967): 15-21. doi: 10.1037/h0024119.