Why are there individual differences in subjective sequential organization during free-recall memorization?

Two experiments investigated the problem of why there are individual differences in the subjective sequential organization which occurs during free-recall memorization. Subjects, preselected as high and low subjective organizers on the basis of their behavior during free recall, learned a preferred or nonpreferred order of associations under either paired-associate or serial-anticipation conditions. Under serial-anticipation conditions, high organizers learned the preferred order much more rapidly than any other group; but, under paired-associate conditions, high organizers were able to learn both types of associations more rapidly than low organizers learning the same materials. These results were interpreted as supporting the notion that the advantage of the good organizer is the ability to form associations between verbal items more rapidly than the poor organizer.