PRIOR-LIST ORGANIZATION IN PART-WHOLE FREE-RECALL LEARNING

In free-recall learning, the prior learning of a part list has a marked effect on the course of whole-list learning. In the present study, it was shown that Ss who had learned either some or all of the words from a few of the optimal memory units on the whole list were superior in whole-list learning to Ss who had learned only one item from each optimal unit. Part-list organization was quickly abandoned when it was inappropriate for whole-list learning; there was, however, persistent interference with the development of optimal memory units for whole-list learning. © 1969 Academic Press Inc. All rights reserved.