Semantic encoding stability and context

Conducted an experiment with 179 undergraduates. Homonyms with 1 pronounciation (e.g., sal ) but 2 spellings and meanings ( sail, sale ) were presented aurally and then written under a disguised pretext. The spelling was assumed to reflect the dominant encoding. Initial encodings were either prompted by semantically selected context words or were not prompted. After intervals of 1-8 min, encodings, were observed again, either with prompting context or without. Initially prompted encodings were less stable than unprompted ones, and the instability increased with increasing intervals. A prompting context at the 2nd encoding opportunity increased the amount of recoding. (22 ref)