Effects of number of study environments and learning instructions on free-recall clustering and accuracy

Three word lists were presented to subjects in a single room or in three rooms, and a free-recall test on all three lists was given in a new environmental context. Multiple learning environments improved recall and clustering for subjects given instructions to memorize the words, but improvements did not materialize for those told to construct and remember stories with the words , and for those given incidental learning instructions to rate each word for pleasantness. Results were interpreted to mean that multiple learning environments provide organizational memory cues when learners seek, but still lack ways of organizing, learning material.