Effect of Set Size on Time to Recall Color Coded Information

摘要

The ability of observers to accurately identify up to twenty different colors presented on a CRT screen was studied. The effect of set size on time to recall color-coded information was also investigated via a paired-associates paradigm in which each color was paired with a letter of the alphabet. On test trials the time between color presentation and the subject's verbal response with the appropriate letter were recorded. All twenty subjects were able to identify accurately all twenty colors. For sets of two through seven colors, increases in set size resulted in significant rises in time to recall. Subsequent increases in set sizes, up to twenty, resulted in little or no further increase in time to recall. The time to recall was also found to vary significantly to the different colors. Although no statistical differences were found among 16 of the 20 colors, the other 4 yielded signigicantly slower times to recall.