Abstract
Three experiments, with a total of 120 undergraduates, were carried out to examine whether recognition for words is better when tested against a background-color that matches that at study compared to testing in a context in which no items were studied. The experiments also examined whether presentation rate—a determinant of item strength—interacts with the background-color context. Undergraduate participants studied 40 target words presented at either a rate of 1.5 or 3.0 seconds per word in one of two background-color contexts in Experiment 1, and studied 36 words in one of six contexts in Experiments 2 and 3. Recognition for the targets was tested with lists consisting of equal numbers of distractors and targets, immediately after study in Experiments 1 and 2, and after a 5-minute filled retention interval in Experiment 3. Although no effect on recognition of the background-color context was observed in Experiment 1, context effects were found in Experiments 2 and 3. Presentation rate did not interact with the context effect. The implications of the present findings are discussed.
