Isolation effects, free recall, and organization.

Studied the influence of isolated words upon free recall and clustering of categorized lists. For Exp. I with 104 undergraduates, the list contained 10 words from each of 4 conceptual categories and the category names, and for Exp. II with 96 Ss, 11 members of 4 categories and no names. Category members were presented in blocked or random order for 4 presentation-recall periods. Isolation effects occurred for random presentation with either category names or members as isolates. The superior recall of isolates was at the expense of other words in the list. Clustering of the categories with an isolate or for the over-all list was not affected by isolates, indicating that they did not influence the organization of the lists. Recall and clustering with block presentation were superior to random presentation. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)