Context stimuli in verbal learning and the persistence of associative factors
Abstract
In a verbal paired-associated task, verbal stimuli were surrounded by different colors on study trials (when the pairs were presented), but the colors were omitted on test trials. Facilitation of learning under these conditions has previously been attributed to cognitive differentiation. In this study it was shown that, at the end of 15 learning trials, associations had developed between: (1) the verbal stimulus and the color which had surrounded that stimulus on study trials, and (2) each color and the appropriate response. These findings support an associative interpretation of facilitation by context cues, even in the case where context cues are omitted on test trials.