Processing time for repetitions and the spacing effect

Two experiments with 98 undergraduates tested L. J. Cuddy and L. L. Jacoby's hypothesis that spacing aids memory for a repeated item to the extent that the S reconstructs the processing of a repeated item due to forgetting of the item's prior presentation. Ss were presented with sequences of words, each of which was accompanied by a short question that required a yes or no answer. Most words were repeated, and several levels of spacing were used. For some Ss, the words were repeated with the same question; for other Ss, different questions accompanied each repetition. Ss were then asked to judge how often each word occurred within the question task. Several levels of spacing and frequency judgments were used as measures of Ss' memory performance. Memory was also measured in terms of probability of a recognition hit and by a recall test that preceded the frequency judgment. Results are generally consistent with Cuddy and Jacoby's hypothesis. A large decline in RT occurred when an item was repeated in the same-question condition, even after a spacing of 40 intervening items, which supports the view that memory for a prior presentation can influence a later presentation of that item. Findings indicate that memory for the prior presentation of an item is less accessible when the repetition varies in form from the prior. (French abstract) (18 ref)