Individual Differences in Associative Learning and Forgetting

We conducted a study to examine individual differences in retention, with particular emphasis on its relationship with item-specific learning speed, general learning speed, and general cognitive factors. Young adults N710 were taught 13 name number pairs to varying successive success criteria using an item dropout procedure to ensure equal learning. Subjects were then taught re- pairings to varying criteria, in an A-B, A-Br design, so as to produce a range of forgetting conditions. Subjects then were asked to recall and relearn the original pairs. Item-specific learning speed predicted retention and reacquisition speed The fastest learners, despite having the fewest number of study opportunities, remembered more and relearned faster. This relationship held over all forgetting conditions, and after statistically equating for within-list interference. General learning speed, as indicated by performance on an independent set of items administered in a variety of formats, also predicted retention and relearning. To examine the effects of other cognitive factors on learning and retention, various latent-variable path models were fit to the data. Our results are contrasted with those of other investigators who, by employing different procedures for equating degree of learning, have concluded that there are no individual differences in retention. Implications for the discrepancy in conclusions are discussed.