Serial Learning as a Function of Age and Part versus Whole Learning Procedures

Abstract

102 male and female students enrolled in Grades 7, 10, and first-year college were tested for recall of a nine-item serial list of CVC trigrams under two separate conditions. One-half of the subjects in each of the three age groups learned the list with repetitive-part learning and the other half of the subjects with the whole learning method. Seventeen subjects comprised each cell of the 3 × 2 design. The three hypotheses were (a) that learning the list as a whole would be more efficient than learning parts of the list and then combining the parts; (b) that the ability to recall serial items would be a function of age; and (c) that while the whole learning method would result in a standard serial-position curve, learning by a part method would result in a primacy effect with a steady regression to the end of the list. Hypotheses were supported.