SERIAL POSITION EFFECTS IN VISUAL SHORT-TERM-MEMORY FOR WORDS AND ABSTRACT SPATIAL PATTERNS

Two experiments tested the effects of list postion, and retention-inte rval in recognition for two distinct stimulus categories in young adul ts. Stimulus categories were spatial abstract patterns and words prese nted on a computer screen. At short delay intervals recency effects pr edominates and at longer delay intervals a primacy effect predominates in both experiments, indicating similar basic memory processes produc ing the serial position functions for the two different categories of visual stimuli, but as length of retention-interval increases, memory for first list items improves for words and remains constant for abstr act patterns. Recency functions are similar for both stimulus categori es tested.