Reinstating higher order properties of a study list by retrieving a list item

In two experiments, we looked at the role of higher order list properties in episodic recall. A probabilistic paired-associate paradigm was used in which each cue was repeatedly paired with two different targets. This paradigm permitted us to cue for a target that had been studied with that cue in the last list, or to cue for either of the two targets that had been repeatedly paired with that cue, although neither the cue nor either of its two targets had been studied in the last list. In Experiment 1, the higher order property was whether all of the targets in a given list were animal names or vegetable names. In Experiment 2, the higher order property was whether all of the pairs in a list were associatively related or unrelated. The assumption was that if participants were using these higher order properties when they retrieved a target that had been studied in the last list, they would also use these properties when recalling in response to a cue that had been studied in other lists but not in the most recent list. The results supported the use of both kinds of higher order properties in episodic access. They also showed that these higher order properties were reinstated by retrieving a target, and were then used in the next memory access operation. The questions of why the retrieval of a target would reinstate a higher order list property and how these very different higher order list properties aid in episodic access were also discussed.