Neath Ian, Saint-Aubin Jean
Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Can J Exp Psychol. 2011 Jun;65(2):77-83. doi: 10.1037/a0021998.
The serial position function, with its characteristic primacy and recency effects, is one of the most ubiquitous findings in episodic memory tasks. In contrast, there are only two demonstrations of such functions in tasks thought to tap semantic memory. Here, we provide a third demonstration, showing that free recall of the prime ministers of Canada also results in a serial position function. Scale Independent Memory, Perception, and Learning (SIMPLE), a local distinctiveness model of memory that was designed to account for serial position effects in episodic memory, fit the data. According to SIMPLE, serial position functions observed in episodic and semantic memory all reflect the relative distinctiveness principle: items will be well remembered to the extent that they are more distinct than competing items at the time of retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).
系列位置函数及其典型的首因效应和近因效应，是情景记忆任务中最普遍的发现之一。相比之下，在被认为涉及语义记忆的任务中，此类函数仅有两个实例。在此，我们给出第三个实例，表明对加拿大总理的自由回忆也会产生系列位置函数。尺度无关记忆、感知与学习（SIMPLE），一种旨在解释情景记忆中系列位置效应的局部独特性记忆模型，与数据相符。根据SIMPLE模型，在情景记忆和语义记忆中观察到的系列位置函数均反映了相对独特性原则：在检索时，项目与竞争项目相比越独特，就越容易被记住。（美国心理学会《心理学文摘数据库记录》（c）2011年版，版权所有）
