An investigation of cued recall of multiattribute stimuli

Memory performance for sequences of letters positioned in particular spatial locations in a 3 x 3 grid was examined by requiring participants to recall attributes of the target stimuli given 1 or 2 features of the stimuli as cues. Cuing asymmetry was observed between the serial-position curves of object and sequential-order information, and location and sequential-order information, when the stimuli were presented in both the same and different locations. After correcting for response bias, this asymmetry was attenuated for the stimuli presented in different locations and was eliminated for the stimuli presented in the same location. Contrary to the predictions of the fragmentation hypothesis (G. V. Jones, 1976), asymmetry was also observed between object and location information. The roles of spatial location and response bias are offered as explanations for previous contradictory claims for cuing symmetry between item and order information.