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information entity > theoretical entity > theory > associative chaining theory

Preferred term

associative chaining theory  

Definition

  • Theoretical approach proposed to explain serial recall. Each item in a list is associated in memory with the item that follows it, thus forming a chain of associations. At the time of recall, each item is a cue to retrieve the next item. Theories of associative chaining accept associations between remote items. However, the associative strength between items is stronger when they are contiguous.

Broader concept

Related concepts

Entry terms

  • associative chaining

Belongs to group

Bibliographic citation(s)

  • • Ebbinghaus, H. (1885/2010). La mémoire : recherches de psychologie experimentale (trad. S. Nicolas). L'harmattan.

    [Study type: empirical study / Access: closed]
  • • Kahana, M. J. (2020). Computational models of memory search. Annual Review of Psychology, 71, 107‑138. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103358

    [Study type: literature review / Access: open]
  • • Logan, G. D., & Cox, G. E. (2021). Serial memory: Putting chains and position codes in context. Psychological Review, 28(6), 1197–1205. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000327

    [Study type: literature review / Access: closed]

Creator

  • Frank Arnould

Has model(s)

Theory of

Editorial note

  • "According to this conception, therefore, the associative threads, which hold together a remembered series, are spun not merely between each member and its immediate successor, but beyond intervening members to every member which stands to it in any close temporal relation. The strength of the threads varies with the distance of the members, but even the weaker of them must be considered as relatively of considerable significance." (Ebbinghaus, 1885/1913, p. 94).

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URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/P66-SLPWKCWM-3

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