Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between a spacing effect and selective attention on central and incidental learning. The subjects were given a central and incidental learning task with tweleve pairs of emotional words. Each pair consisted of a positive and negative word, and these were used as semantic cues. In the task the subjects studied one word of each pair with focused attention (central learning) and the other with divided attention (incidental learning). Each pair was repeated four times. Six of the pairs were presented at regular intervals in the spaced condition, and the other six were presented consecutively in the massed condition. The duration of eye fixation was recorded during the presentation period so that the selective attention of a subject could be examined. Immediately after the presentation period, the subjects were given a free recall test. The results indicated that a spacing effect was present in the central learning condition but not in incidental learning. Consequently, intentional attention rather than semantic cues caused the spacing effect.
