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Priming in a free association task as a function of association directionality
R Zeelenberg1, R M Shiffrin, J G Raaijmakers
1University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. pn_zeelenberg@macmail.psy.uva.nl
Memory & Cognition
|December 10, 1999
Summary
Priming in free association occurs when words have a backward association to the cue. This implicit memory finding challenges theories focused solely on strengthening target responses.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Experimental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Implicit memory tasks, such as free association, explore unconscious cognitive processes.
- Priming effects in word association tasks are influenced by the nature of word pair associations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of bidirectional versus unidirectional word associations in priming.
- To test theoretical accounts of priming in free association, specifically the strengthening of target responses versus cue-target associations.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments utilized free association tasks with specially constructed word pairs.
- Stimuli included bidirectionally associated pairs (e.g., BEACH-SAND) and unidirectionally associated pairs (e.g., BONE-DOG).
- Participants completed a study phase with incidental learning followed by a test phase requiring association generation.
Main Results:
- Priming was observed for target words with backward associations to the stimulus cue (e.g., SAND from BEACH).
- No priming was found for targets lacking backward associations (e.g., DOG from BONE).
- Results contradicted theories attributing priming solely to strengthened target responses.
Conclusions:
- Priming in free association is dependent on the strengthening of cue-target associations, not just target responses.
- This finding refines our understanding of implicit memory mechanisms in associative tasks.
- The study highlights the importance of directional associations in cognitive priming phenomena.