1. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Applying the theories of empiricist philosophers, Ebbinghaus maintained that serial lists were learned by associating each item with the item that directly followed it: Ebbinghaus’ Associative Theory ABCDE These connections between adjacent items are called direct associations. They form because of “temporal contiguity”: Adjacent items “touch” in time. Each time the list is practiced, the associations between these contiguous items are strengthened.

2. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Ebbinghaus’ Associative Theory ABCDE Ebbinghaus discovered that associations also form between non-adjacent items. He called these remote associations.

3. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Remote associations are weaker than direct associations. After saying A, you have a stronger tendency to say B than to say C. Ebbinghaus’ Associative Theory ABCDE Remote associations cause errors early in practice. With more practice trials, direct associations gain more strength than remote associations.

4. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The greater the time gap between two items, the weaker will be the remote association between them. Ebbinghaus’ Associative Theory ABCDE For example, suppose each item appeared for 5 seconds. 5 5 5 5 5

5. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A and D are separated by 10 seconds whereas A and C are separated by 5 seconds. The remote association between A and D will be weaker. Ebbinghaus’ Associative Theory ABCDE 5 5 5 5 5

6. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Ebbinghaus demonstrated remote associations using his “Method of Derived Lists”. He would learn a list of 16 nonsense syllables on one day and then the next day he would learn a second list derived from the first. Method of Derived Lists The second list consisted of the same 16 nonsense syllables as the first but in a different order. It was constructed by taking Item 1 from the original list and then skipping over 1, 2, or 3 of the next items to get Item 2 for the derived list.

7. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Method of Derived Lists “Skipping by Ones” (1 st -Order Derived List) 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 2, 4, 6, 8, 1 0, 12, 14, 16 Note that in the original list, remote associations theoretically existed between these items. This should speed up the relearning of the list.

8. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Method of Derived Lists “Skipping by Twos” (2 nd -Order Derived List) 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 The remote associations linking these items should be weaker than those in the 1 st -order list because the 2 nd -order items were originally separated by a longer time gap. Relearning should be slower than with the 1 st -order list.

9. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Method of Derived Lists “Skipping by Threes” (3 rd -Order Derived List) 1, 5, 9, 13, 2, 6, 10, 14, 3, 7, 11, 15, 4, 8, 12, 16 Relearning should be slowest because these items theoretically have the weakest remote associations.

10. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Method of Derived Lists For comparison, Ebbinghaus also tested himself on the original list, a reversed list (16, 15, 14,...) and a scrambled (random) list.

11. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Method of Derived Lists The results support the theory. Interestingly, the reversed list was second fastest, indicating that direct backward associations are even stronger than the remote associations. Results Fastest Relearning Slowest Relearning Original List Reversed Skipping Ones Skipping Twos Skipping Threes Scrambled

12. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Serial Position Curve When subjects learn a serial list, they usually show a pattern of errors in which items in the middle of the list are missed on more trials than items at the beginning or end of the list. When this pattern is studied on a graph, it is called the “Serial Position Curve”. For many years, researchers have tried to understand the processes responsible for the serial position curve. Both associative and cognitive processes appear to play a role.

13. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Serial Position Curve 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mean Number of Errors 10 8 6 4 2 0 Serial Position of Item Suppose that subjects practice a list of nonsense syllables until they can recite it without an error. For each subject, we count how many times each item was missed across all of the trials. We take an average for the group to get a measure of the typical error pattern. We set up the graph like this...

14. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Serial Position Curve 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mean Number of Errors 10 8 6 4 2 0 Serial Position of Item Technically, the peak is a little past the middle of the list.

15. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Serial Position Curve 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mean Number of Errors 10 8 6 4 2 0 Serial Position of Item...and the beginning of the curve has fewer errors than the end.

16. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Serial Position Curve 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mean Number of Errors 10 8 6 4 2 0 Serial Position of Item But the basic problem is to explain why the most errors occur around the middle.

17. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Remote Associations ABCDE Visually, there appears to be a relationship between the pattern of remote associations and the pattern of errors when learning a serial list. Errors Serial Position of Item

18. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Remote Associations ABCDE Researchers focused on “spanning associations”: remote associations that span a direct association. There are more spanning associations in the middle than at the ends of the list. Errors Serial Position of Item 3535

19. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Remote Associations ABCDE Concepts were borrowed from classical conditioning to explain why spanning associations interfered with the formation of direct associations. The Lepley-Hull Hypothesis applied the concept of inhibition. Errors Serial Position of Item 3535

20. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z These efforts to apply conditioning concepts ran into roadblocks; key predictions were not supported. The Role of Remote Associations Confidence decreased in the basic Ebbinghaus view of serial learning: that we associate each item with the next automatically as the result of the time schedule on which the items were presented.

21. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Strategies The associative theory leaves out peoples’ strategies for learning. Maybe subjects miss more items in the middle because they first try to learn the items at the beginning and end. These items stand out more; they get more attention. The end items can serve as anchors to which subjects can later attach the middle items. Cognitive theory has long emphasized subjects’ strategies for learning, how subjects modify the conditions of practice arranged by the researcher.

22. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Strategies Glanzer and Dolinsky (1965) demonstrated that they could control subjects’ anchoring strategy, and that this strategy affects the shape of the serial position curve. They presented a list of 10 nonsense syllables for 40 trials, 2 seconds per item. They used a closed-loop or continuous presentation procedure in which there was no rest period between the end of one trial and the beginning of the next: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1...

23. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Strategies The Control Group was told that the first syllable they would see was the “beginning” of the list and the 5 th syllable was the “middle”. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 B M The Experimental Group was told that the first syllable they would see was the “middle” of the list and the 5 th syllable was the “beginning”. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 M B

24. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Strategies Errors 1 10 Serial Position of Item Serial Position Curves The Control Group showed a standard curve, with the fewest errors around the instructed beginning and the most errors around the instructed middle.

25. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Strategies Errors 1 10 Serial Position of Item Serial Position Curves

26. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Strategies Errors 1 10 Serial Position of Item Serial Position Curves The Experimental Group showed an upside down curve that reflected the unusual instructions they received. The fewest errors were on Item 5, the instructed beginning. There were many more errors on Item 1, the instructed middle.

27. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z The Role of Strategies Errors 1 10 Serial Position of Item Serial Position Curves

28. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Formation of Response Units Karl Lashley argued that well-learned sequences, like playing notes on a piano, are performed too fast to be the result of item-to-item associations. Individual elements are run off as a single unit. When you recite the alphabet, you may group certain letters, like LMNOP, and run those off like lightning, then pause before going to the next group.

29. Serial Learning A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Formation of Response Units William K. Estes suggested that each response unit was represented by a code, and these codes were arranged in a hierarchy. To perform a serial task, you think first of the highest level code, like “alphabet”. That triggers a lower level code, like “beginning”. Then that triggers the code representing “first group”: ABCDEFG which triggers the code for “second group”:HIJK Hierarchies of codes reflect the cognitive emphasis on relational learning and organization in memory.