For pairs of meaningful items (e.g., words), recall accuracy is nearly identical for forward and backward probes. That is, after studying an A-B pair, subjects can recall Agiven B as well as they can recall B given A(Kahana, 2002). To assess whether this symmetry property is unique to pairs, we investigated the effects of study direction on probed recall of word triples and serial lists. Two experiments revealed a forward-recall advantage in both triples and serial lists. In addition, compound cues produced better recall than did single-item adjacent cues, which, in turn, produced better recall than did remote cues. These findings suggest a discontinuity between the associative processes supporting memory for pairs and those supporting memory for sequences of three or more items.