March 1974
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4 Reads
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3 Citations
Journal of Experimental Psychology
Tested D. L. Hintzman and R. A. Block's hypothesis that in verbal discrimination transfer, when situational frequency is initially superior for incorrect (I) than correct (C) items, the degree to which transfer is inhibited will depend on the temporal separation of the original and transfer tasks. 120 undergraduates learned a reversal list task wherein designation of C and I items learned in List 1 was reversed in List 2 (A-B, A-B, where italics indicate C item). Temporal separation between lists (0 or 7 min) and number of List 1 trials (4 or 8) were factors. Support for the hypothesis was found only for conditions of low List 1 learning. It is suggested that Ss obtain information concerning List 1 context and intrapair associations as number of List 1 trials increases. This information may aid transfer discrimination as frequency accrues to List 2 C items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)