Comparison of Two Different Spatial Arrays in Relation to Serial Position Effect

Summary

The influence of spatial presentation of items on the serial position effect was investigated by presenting items simultaneously either in a vertical list or a diamond arrangement to 30 male and female volunteers from general psychology classes. It was hypothesized that the points of the diamond would serve as spatial anchors and facilitate the recall of adjoining items. The only significant facilitation occurred in an item next to the six o'clock anchor, yielding only slight support for the spatial representation hypothesis of the serial position effect.