Rate of Presentation in Running Memory and Direct Manipulation of Input-Processing Strategies

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Abstract
An experiment was carried out to examine the effect of presentation rate on recall, as a function of the kind of input-processing carried out by the subject during a running memory task. Subjects listened to long sequences of digits (16–35 items in length), and attempted to recall as many as possible of the last 10 items presented during a 15 s break between successive sequences. Digits were presented at rates of 1, 2 or 3/s in different sequences, distributed randomly throughout a 60-sequence test. Separate groups of 16 subjects were instructed to use one of the following strategies in listening to the digits: Active—rehearsing and grouping digits by threes; Passive—avoiding all forms of organization of the input. The results demonstrate clear and reliable differences between strategies in the effect of rate. Active is best at 1/s and deteriorates monotonically with increases in rate, while Passive shows the opposite trend, improving from 1 to 3/s. The operation of an important input-processing factor is evident in these findings, and is probably at least partly responsible for the previous lack of agreement in studies of the effect of presentation rate in immediate recall.

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