Ambient Temperature Effects on Paired Associate Learning∗

Male college students learned and later recalled a paired associate list (word-number pairs) in one of five air (dry bulb) temperatures (52, 62, 72. 82, or 92°F), with wet bulb temperature held constant. They learned and recalled best at 72°F, with performance declining at successively lower and higher air temperatures. In a second experiment, dry and wet bulb temperatures were varied from 52-82°F, in 5° increments, with relative humidity held constant. Other male students learned equally well in these effective temperatures. It was concluded that rote verbal learning may not be impaired even by quite low air temperatures, if relative humidity is controlled appropriately.