Explaining category interference effects in associative memory.

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Abstract
The effects of categorization on the acquisition and longterm retention of AB word pairs were studied using modeling techniques that factor the contributions of various storage and retrieval factors. The major findings for acquisition data were: there was a cross-over interaction such that the effects of increasing the degree of cue or target relatedness depended on the nature of the comparison items. In contrast with the results of previous studies, effects were larger when categorization was manipulated on the target side of AB pairs than when it was manipulated on the cue side. Degree of categorization affected retrieval difficulty but not storage difficulty. The major findings for longterm retention were: contrary to the acquisition data, the effects of categorization on retention were uniformly positive. Categorization decreased amount of forgetting primarily by reducing the rate at which traces were lost from memory (storage failure) during the retention interval. Results were interpreted in terms of modern unitary-trace theories of associative memory.

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