THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF ASSOCIATIVE CONSTRAINTS BETWEEN WORDS UPON THE RECALL OF CONNECTED DISCOURSE ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS ARTICLE. THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ASSOCIATIONS WILL AFFECT BOTH STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL. FOUR STUDIES ARE DISCUSSED IN WHICH WORDS VARYING IN FREE ASSOCIATION STRENGTH WERE EMBEDDED IN CONNECTED DISCOURSE. LEARNING WAS TESTED BY IMMEDIATE WRITTEN RECALL AFTER A SINGLE PRESENTATION OF THE PASSAGES. IN ALL OF THESE STUDIES, RECALL OF ASSOCIATIVELY RELATED ITEMS WAS SUPERIOR TO RECALL OF ASSOCIATIVELY UNRELATED ITEMS. IN ADDITION, THE PRESENCE OF ASSOCIATIVELY RELATED WORDS IN A PASSAGE TENDED TO INCREASE THE RECALL OF THE REST OF THE PASSAGE. CLOZE DATA WERE COLLECTED ON THE PASSAGES USED IN THESE STUDIES SO AS TO HAVE SOME IDEA OF THE CONSTRAINTS EXISTING WITHIN THE PASSAGES BETWEEN ASSOCIATES AND BETWEEN THE CONTEXT OF THE PASSAGES AND THE ASSOCIATIVE MATERIALS. SOME PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THESE STUDIES ARE DISCUSSED. THIS PAPER IS PUBLISHED IN "STUDIES IN LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR, PROGRESS REPORT IV," BY THE CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 220 EAST HURON STREET, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48108. (AUTHOR/AMM)