The Brown-Peterson paradigm: a comparison of scoring methods.

The recall performance of three groups of nonretarded and one group of mentally retarded persons who were tested using the Brown-Peterson paradigm was compared on two scoring methods. In one method a point was assigned to each item of a triad correctly recalled; in the other a point was added when all three words were correctly recalled in the sequence in which they were presented. The slopes of the curves were steeper over groups and trials during build-up of proactive inhibition, as well as over trials during release, when scoring for sequence of recall than when not scoring for sequence of recall. Analyses of the proportion of times complete triads were recalled by the groups in the sequence in which they were presented revealed that that sequence did not differ reliably among the groups during build-up or release. The relatively higher performance by better performing groups when scoring for sequence of recall, and the ensuing interactions, can be attributed to level of recall and chance fluctuations in the incidence of that particular sequence rather than to some cognitive factor.