Question

Why were nonsense syllables used in the earliest studies of forgetting? so that the stimulus materials were simple enough that even children could read and remember them so that cross-cultural comparisons of memory could be investigated using speakers of different languages so that the material did not have preexisting associations in memory to reduce retroactive interference?

Answer 1

Nonsense syllables were used in the earliest studies of forgetting so that the material did not have preexisting associations in memory. Nonsense syllables are any of numerous letter combinations that are arbitrarily formed, used in memory or learning experiments and tests.