LASHLEY AND THE PROBLEM OF SERIAL ORDER

In a classic statement delivered in 1948, Lashley proposed that serial order is mediated by central integrative processes and not by linkages between successive elements of perceived or enacted sequences. Lashley's observations and ideas concerning serial order, their antecedents in his own work, and the context in which they were delivered are reviewed. Their scientific significance for a number of topics in psychology are also considered. Lashley's views appear to have directly influenced progress in the area of motor control. Concerning cognitive science, however, the serial order paper did not energize or revive such an approach but supported it after it was under way.