1993/12/01 by Ian Neath · 3 citations
Neuroscience · Computer Science · Psychology · #Memory Processes and Influences #Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning #Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
paper · doi:10.1006/jmla.1993.1041
openalex publication_date 1993/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
When people recall a series of items, memory for the last few items is enhanced relative to items earlier in the list, a result called the recency effect. When the final item in the list is followed by a period of distracting activity the recency effect is attenuated, but when every item is followed by distracting activity the recency effect returns. The experiments reported replicate the changing-distractor effect - reduced recency when the distractor task following an item differs from the task following the other items - in incidental learning conditions and demonstrate that when a unique distractor task occurs after every item, the recency effect again reemerges, findings problematic for a rehearsal explanation. Rather, the final experiments support a proposed distinction between contextual effects and those due to distinctiveness, with the result that the changing-distractor effect is no longer seen as problematical for theories of serial position effects based on distinctiveness.