Associative Asymmetry in S-R vs R-S Recall of Double-Function Lists

Abstract

Contrary to the Asch-Ebenholtz principle of associative symmetry, significantly poorer backward (R–S) than forward (S–R) recall was demonstrated following the learning of double-function paired-associate lists, wherein each item appears once as a stimulus and again as a response term but is paired with two different other terms. Since equal availability of stimulus and response terms is guaranteed by the formal identity of the two sets within these double-function lists, thereby eliminating a major shortcoming of previous attempts to test the Asch-Ebenholtz thesis that S–R and R–S associations within each pair are necessarily equivalent in strength, the present results offer strong evidence against the validity of the principle of associative symmetry as applied to paired-associate learning.