Effects of Memorization of Rule Statements on Acquisition and Retention of Rule-Governed Behavior in a Computer-Based Learning Task.

One hundred and twenty-four high school students were randomly assigned to four groups: 33 subjects memorized the rule statement before, 29 subjects memorized the rule statement during, and 30 subjects memorized the rule statement after instruction in rule application skills. Thirty-two subjects were not required to memorize rule statements. Neither memorization nor temporal placement of the memorization tasks significantly affected performances on posttest or rule application retention test. Memorization of rule statements after mastering rule-governed behavior increased the relationships between several performance measures and reasoning ability test scores. Memorization of rule statements prior to rule application instruction facilitated acquisition of rule-governed behavior and reduced variability in students' performance during acquisition of rule application skills. (Author)