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The test-retest reliability of free association norms J 146 Ss gave free associations to 158 stimulus words on two occasions separated by 10 weeks. The probability of responding with an identical associate (LA) after 10 weeks was .32. A correlation of .84 was found between number of Primary (P) responses and number of lAs for the 146 Ss. A high positive correlation was found between dominance of the Primary (DP) and number of lAs for the 158 words, while a negative correlation was found between frequency in the language of the stimulus word (LF) and number of lAs. The coefficient of multiple correlation yielded R1.23= .92, indicating that a high degree of reliability can be predicted for words with low LF and high DP.

In order to explore variables underlying primacy and recency effects in free recall of pictorial material. norms were developed using 120 subjects who rated the vividness and complexity of slides. Two experiments were then run in which two levels of each of these variables (extreme high and low ratings) were factorially combined. In the first experiment 24 subjects were shown three mixed lists, two short and one long (consisting of materials of all four combinations of vividness and complexity), and in the second experiment 12 subjects were shown four pure lists (consisting of materials of a single type). Analysis of variance showed list length in the mixed list experiment and complexity in both experiments to be strong determinants of recall. Greatest recall was for items of low complexity in short lists. Weak, but statistically significant, serial position effects were evident, particularly for less complex items. The effects of primacy and recency seem to decrease with increasing complexity of visual materials. perhaps because of the greater difficulty in rehearsing more complex pictures either verbally or iconically.When any set of stimuli that exceeds our immediate memory span is presented and we are later asked to recall or recognize these stimuli, items at the beginning and end of the sequence have a higher probability of being recalled than items near the middle of the sequence. This hypothesis has been substantiated so consistently under so many different conditions that it has almost achieved the status of an empirical law. Under some circumstances, the recency effect is stronger than the primacy effect, but a reported failure to find either effect in a series of well-eontrolled experiments is an impetus to look carefully at the research.Using complex pictures that did not evoke a consistent label Shaffer and Shiffrin (1972) found that recognition was affected by presentation time but not by the time following a picture. Furthermore, neither primacy nor recency was demonstrated. In order to further explore this finding and its implications for a theory of memory which postulates separate shortand long-term stores, Shiffrin (1973) developed an ingenious procedure for studying free recall of complex pictures. Using a dependent variable based on vividness with which subjects reported recalling the picture, Shiffrin found (1) little primacy or recency effect regardless of presentation time or length of list and (2) a strong list-length effect showing significantly poorer recall for slides in longer lists when presentation time was held constant.Since we agreed with Shiffrin that both primacy and recency effects are, at least within a two-stage memory model, attributable to the additional rehearsal that is usually given to early items and final items in a series, the results seemed to suggest that we may not be able to effectively rehearse complex visual stimuli during periods when they are not physically present.We thank P. Herzer and J. Coleman for their assistance in collecting and analyzing the data. The

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