PRACTICE EFFECTS DURING REPEATED ADMINISTRATIONS OF MEMORY TESTS WITHAND WITHOUT ALTERNATE FORMS

Previous research indicates that practice effects are large with repea ted versions of memory tests. in contrast, administrations of the same tests using alternate forms typically yield much smaller practice eff ects. However, most studies do not compare alternate- and same-form co nditions directly, and differ widely in terms of test-retest interval, modality of stimuli (verbal, spatial), format of the memory test, and number of examinations. The present study investigated practice effec ts during repeated administrations of verbal and nonverbal memory test s which have the same administration format. Two groups of healthy par ticipants, matched for age, education, estimated IQ, and baseline memo ry test performance, were assigned to either a same- or alternate-form s condition. Participants taking the same form every two weeks improve d significantly over four sessions. Participants completing alternate forms of the nonverbal memory test produced a small practice gain, but the verbal memory test was resistant to practice effects when alterna te forms were used.