U. Vonhecker, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BALANCE, GENERALIZATI ON, AND POSITIVITY AS COGNITIVE RULES, Zeitschrift fur experimentelle und angewandte Psychologie, 40(4), 1993, pp. 548-576
Three formal schemata (the cognitive rules of balance, generalization
and positivity) were examined to determine their impact on the retenti
on of information about social configurations. First, under standard c
onditions (12 relations) better retention for relations stemming from
balanced configurations was demonstrated, in accordance with the Heide
rian memory hypothesis (Experiment 1). Neither generalization nor posi
tivity were observed. The second experiment, which involved 24 relatio
ns, showed both generalization and positivity to be effective. A balan
ce effect therefore appears to be limited to a maximum of about 18-21
to-be-learned relations. Beyond this limit, however, the simpler rules
(positivity and generalization) can still have an impact on memory. T
hus, learning remains schema-driven and does not become rote learning'
'. The failure of balance to be effective when a larger amount of mate
rial is involved is discussed with reference to two alternatives: inte
rference by the number of relations and interference by the number of
triads. The significance of the regarding models of representation for
social relations in memory is also discussed.