A retrieved context account of spacing and repetition effects in free recall

Repeating an item in a list benefits recall performance, and this benefit increases when the repetitions are spaced apart (Madigan, 1969; Melton, 1970). Retrieved context theory incorporates 2 mechanisms that account for these effects: contextual variability and study-phase retrieval. Specifically, if an item presented at position i is repeated at position j, this leads to retrieval of its context from its initial presentation at i (study-phase retrieval), and this retrieved context will be used to update the current state of context (contextual variability). Here we consider predictions of a computational model that embodies retrieved context theory, the context maintenance and retrieval model (CMR; Polyn, Norman, & Kahana, 2009). CMR makes the novel prediction that subjects are more likely to successively recall items that follow a shared repeated item (e.g., i + 1, j + 1) because both items are associated with the context of the repeated item presented at i and j. CMR also predicts that the probability of recalling at least 1 of 2 studied items should increase with the items' spacing (Lohnas, Polyn, & Kahana, 2011). We tested these predictions in a new experiment, and CMR's predictions were upheld. These findings suggest that retrieved context theory offers an integrated explanation for repetition and spacing effects in free recall tasks.