Item-to-item associations in typing: Evidence from spin list sequence learning.

Associations are formed among the items in a sequence over the course of learning, but these item-to-item associations are not sufficient to reproduce the order of the sequence (Lashley, 1951). Contemporary theories of serial order tend to omit these associations entirely. The current paper investigates whether item-to-item associations play a role in serial order, specifically focusing on whether these associations influence how typists order their keystrokes. To address this question, participants completed variants of the spin list learning procedure (Ebenholtz, 1963). In these experiments, participants practiced typing nonword anagram sequences, and the order of the letters between anagrams was manipulated. Between half of the anagram sequences, both absolute and relative letter order were made inconsistent by scrambling the letters according to a balanced Latin square. For the other half, the letters were instead spun, making absolute order inconsistent but keeping relative order consistent. Learning was faster for anagram sequences with consistent relative order (Experiment 1). Practice on spun sequences with consistent relative order transferred to unpracticed sequences with the same relative order (Experiment 2). Transfer to unpracticed sequences did not depend on the absolute position of the letters in the unpracticed sequences (Experiment 3). However, transfer disappeared if letter order was reversed (Experiment 4). These results suggest that typing does make use of item-to-item associations, at least when associative interference is minimized. Although not sufficient, item-to-item associations are a necessary component of serial order in typing. (PsycINFO Database Record