Rehearsal Strategies and the Serial-Position Curve in Immediate Free Recall of Ordered Items

Immediate free recall of random strings of 10 numbers was studied under four experimental conditions: as each number was presented, subjects either had to recall the previous number (Recall n–1), recall the number just presented (Recall n), read the number (Read aloud), or were silent (Free Recall). Overall recall was the same in all conditions. Recall and order of recall by serial-position changed systematically, with an increasing recency and decreasing primacy effect from Free Recall through Read Aloud and Recall n to Recall n–1. These changes in recall order and serial-position curves suggest that differential rehearsal of items is decreased by requiring retrieval during presentation.