Relationships between verbal ability, semantic category clustering, and speed of retrieval were studied. Lists of 30 words were presented individually to subjects with high- and low-verbal ability under free recall, delayed free recall, and clustering recall conditions. In the first stage of recall, high verbals displayed a significantly higher rate of clustering than low verbals in the clustering recall condition. Low verbals displayed a tendency to cluster at a higher rate than high verbals during the first stage of recall in the free recall condition. These results suggest that verbal ability is related to the strategy individuals choose for organizing information stored in memory. High verbals recalled significantly more words than low verbals in the delayed free recall and clustering recall conditions. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that verbal ability is positively related to short-term memory storage capacity. High verbals were also faster than low verbals in the time required to orally recall their initial 10 correct words, suggesting that verbal ability is related to the speed of retrieval when relatively "deep" long-term memory processes are involved. (Author)