Differential recall of problems, clues, and solutions from completed and uncompleted tasks

Abstract

Forty college students were given the task of solving 28 anagrams with the help of clues. The anagrams were constructed so that problem words, solutions, and clues were common English words. Set was varied between the two groups by telling one group to expect a recall test (open set) and not so informing the other group (closed set). Clues leading to solutions were subsequently recalled more frequently. Subjects in the open group tended to recall more problem words, while those in the closed group tended to recall more clues. The results were interpreted as being due to differential effects of reward.The present experiment is a replication and extension of earlier work (Bottenberg, Marx, & Pavur, 1976) in which solution of paper and pencil problems led to better recall of problem clues compared to recall of problem clues from unsolved problems. That experimental design was replicated in this study, using different materials (anagrams).Like the earlier study, the present experiment was intended to relate the Zeigarnik effect to the broader field of learning. Previous experiments (e.g., Zeigarnik, 1927) have indicated that recall is aided by the persistence of motivation as an outcome of interruption (Lewin, 1935). On the other hand, our recent experiment (Bottenberg et aI, 1976) has indicated that recall is aided by motivation reduction (reward, or "reinforcement") as an outcome of completion. This apparent contradiction was interpreted with respect to the nature 'of the tasks used. Experiments demonstrating the classic Zeigarnik effect have typically used performance-type tasks, such as naming a specific number of authors, letter cancellation, and connecting dots. Our results were obtainel:l with a problem-type task, which requires a relatively new organization of behavior in order to attain an unforeseeable solution.The present experiment was designed to use problemtype tasks. Thus, preferential recall due to completion, rather than to interruption, was predicted. Unlike the earlier study, which used a variety of different tasks requiring irregular time intervals, the present experiment used more homogeneous materials, allowing additional control over the presentation rate, the nature of the interruption, and the instructional set. This study manipulated the instructional variable in order to determine some of the boundary conditions within which completion leads to improved recall . One group of subjects was not informed that they would later be tested for recall (closed set), while the other group was informed that they would later be asked to recall problems, clues, and solutions (open set). METHOD SubjectsForty students, 23 males and 17 females, from an introductory psychology course received class credit for participating. A group testing procedure was used; the fust group was given a closed instructional set, whereas the second was given an open set. MaterialsThe problems used were five-letter anagram words whose letters could be rearranged to form another word. The anagrams were selected from those use...

Enhancement of frequency judgments by response choice

“…The particular variable with which this experiment was concerned was the presumed automatic effect of reward (Marx, 1981). It was hypothesized that frequency judgments might be subject to the same kind of enhancement in retention as previously had been shown to occur for instrumental behaviors in successfully completed tasks (Bottenberg, Marx, & Pavur, 1976;Marx, Pavur, & Seymour, 1977). A "cover" task (choosing the more "positive" of two words) was used instead of the customary memory task.…”