--- abstract: 'I find that the total search time in word free recall, averaged over item position, increases linearly with the number of items recalled. Thus the word free recall search algorithm scales the same as the low-error recognition of integers (Sternberg, 1966). The result suggests that both simple integer recognition and the more complex word free recall use the same search algorithm. The proportionality constant of 2-4 seconds per item (a hundred times larger than for integer recognition) is a power function of the proportion not remembered and seems to be the same function for word free recall in young and old subjects, high and low presentation rates and delayed and immediate free recall. The linear scaling of the search algorithm is different from what is commonly assumed to be the word free recall search algorithm, search by random sampling. The linearity of the word free recall extends down to 3 items which presents a challenge to the prevalent working memory theory in which 3-5 items are proposed to be stored in a separate high-availability store.' altloc: [] chapter: ~ commentary: ~ commref: ~ confdates: ~ conference: ~ confloc: ~ contact_email: ~ creators_id: [] creators_name: - family: Tarnow given: Eugen honourific: Dr. lineage: '' date: 2013-01-02 date_type: submitted datestamp: 2013-01-07 22:18:08 department: ~ dir: disk0/00/00/87/97 edit_lock_since: ~ edit_lock_until: 0 edit_lock_user: ~ editors_id: [] editors_name: [] eprint_status: archive eprintid: 8797 fileinfo: /8797/1.hassmallThumbnailVersion/Submission010213.pdf;/8797/1/Submission010213.pdf full_text_status: public importid: ~ institution: ~ isbn: ~ ispublished: ~ issn: ~ item_issues_comment: [] item_issues_count: ~ item_issues_description: [] item_issues_id: [] item_issues_reported_by: [] item_issues_resolved_by: [] item_issues_status: [] item_issues_timestamp: [] item_issues_type: [] keywords: 'Free recall; short term memory; memory search, Sternberg' lastmod: 2013-02-18 15:08:31 latitude: ~ longitude: ~ metadata_visibility: show note: ~ number: ~ pagerange: ~ pubdom: FALSE publication: ~ publisher: ~ refereed: FALSE referencetext: "Cowan, Nelson; Rouder, Jeffrey N.; Blume, Christopher L.; Saults, J. Scott 2012 \"Models of verbal working memory capacity: What does it take to make them work?\" Psychological Review, Vol 119(3), Jul 2012, 480-499\r\nMatthew Duncan, Bennet Murdock (2000) \"Recognition and Recall with Precuing and Postcuing\", Journal of Memory and Language Volume 42, Issue 3, April 2000, Pages 301–313.\r\nHintzman D, (2011), Research Strategy in the Study of Memory: Fads, Fallacies, and the Search for the \"‘Coordinates of Truth\", Perspectives on Psychological Science 6(3) 253–271.\r\nJohnson DM, Johnson RC Mark AL (1951). A mathematical analysis of verbal fluency. J General Psychology 44, 121-128.\r\nKahana JM, Zaromb F, Wingfield A (2001) Age dissociates recency and lag-recency effects in free recall Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 28(3) 530-540.Kahana M, Associative retrieval processes in free recall, Memory & Cognition 1996,24 (1), 103-109\r\nLaming D (1999) Testing the Idea of Distinct Storage Mechanisms in Memory, International Journal of Psychology 34, 5-6, 419-426.\r\nMurdock Jr., Bennet B. \"The immediate retention of unrelated words. \"Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol 60(4), Oct 1960, 222-234\r\nMurdock B (1962) The serial position effect of free recall Journal of Experimental Psychology 64(5) 482-488.\r\nRohrer D, Wixted J (1994) An analysis of latency and interresponse time in free recall, Memory & Cognition 22(5):511-524.\r\nTarnow E (2010) There is no capacity limited buffer in the Murdock (1962) free recall data. Cognitive Neurodynamics December 2010, Volume 4, Issue 4, pp 395-397\r\nTarnow E (2011) The free recall search process introduces errors in short term memory but apparently not in long term memory. See http://cogprints.org/7337/\r\n" relation_type: [] relation_uri: [] reportno: ~ rev_number: 9 series: ~ source: ~ status_changed: 2013-01-07 22:18:08 subjects: - cog-psy - comp-neuro-sci succeeds: ~ suggestions: ~ sword_depositor: ~ sword_slug: ~ thesistype: ~ title: Word Free Recall Search Scales Linearly With Number of Items Recalled type: preprint userid: 2525 volume: ~