The Precise Time Course of Retention

Fits of retention data were examined from 5 conditions: 3 types of cued recall, an old-new recognition task, and a remember-know recognition task. In each condition, 100 participants had either 18 recall or 27 recognition trials at each of 10 delays between 0 and 99 intervening items, providing the first data obtained in experimental psychology that were precise enough to distinguish clearly among simple functions. None of the 105 2-parameter functions tested produced adequate fits to the data. The function y = a^e~" + a2e~ IIT2 + a3 fit each of the 5 retention conditions. The X2 parameter in this equation equaled 28 for the 3 recall conditions and the remember-know recognition condition and 13 for the old-new recognition condition. Individuals' recall data fit the same function with parameters varying with gender and scholastic aptitude scores. Reaction times support the claim that the aye'" 15 term describes working memory, and the remaining 2 terms describe long-term memory.

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