A classification of associative strategies in paired-associate learning

Although verbal reports are highly idiosyncratic, the results of these two studies show that it was possible to categorize them in a reliable and systematic manner. More specifically, a seven category strategy classification scheme was developed which permitted the categories to be rank ordered along an apparent continuum of cue complexity. Experiment I revealed a statistically significant increasing monotonie relationship between level of strategy employed and performance on the learning task. Similar findings were obtained in a replication of this experiment.