Errorless and effortful processes involved in the learning of face-name associations by patients with alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome

In Experiment 1, Korsakoff patients were asked to learn fictitious face-name associations under each of four study conditions that differed from one another in the error and effort required to fulfil the task demands. Recall performance gradually improved over four training sessions and was affected by the error factor. The paired associate and the vanishing cues methods led to superior recall in comparison with the target selection and the initial letter methods, demonstrating an advantage of errorless learning. In contrast, the effort factor was found to have little effect. In Experiment 2, the effectiveness of the vanishing cues method was further examined over five additional training sessions. As indexed by a delayed test, the gradual acquisition of face-name associations was confirmed, but some patients consistently made no correct recall throughout the sessions. The roles of error and effort in the memory rehabilitation of amnesic patients are discussed.