Collaborative inhibition is due to the product, not the process, of recalling in groups

When people remember together, they recall less than if they remembered separately. This is called collaborative inhibition. We examine whether this is due to the product of group recall or the process of recalling in groups. In other words, is it what the other people recall or the structure of the group dialogue that impairs group performance? Participants worked either independently or in pairs. For half of the pairs, the participants saw the items that the other person recalled. As was expected, this led to levels of recall that were lower than those for the control participants. For the other half of the pairs, the participants did not see the words recalled by the other person but still followed a turn-taking protocol. Recall was at the level of that in the nominal control condition. Collaborative inhibition is due to interference caused by the product of recall, not the process.