Further Evidence for Differentiation Effects of Context Stimuli: A Reply to Birnbaum

Abstract

Previous paired-associate studies show that the addition of distinctive colors to verbal stimuli facilitates learning. The present paper is concerned with whether this facilitation occurs because color aids in differentiating the verbal stimuli or whether facilitation is due to color serving as an additional associative cue to the correct response. Further analysis of data from Saltz (1963) indicates that the order of difficulty of the pairs in the lists used was determined primarily by the verbal stimuli; the colors, per se, used as cues, produced orders that were moderately negatively related to the orders found in lists containing compound stimuli of both color and verbal components. The results support a differentiation position.