EFFECTIVENESS OF SERIAL POSITION AND PRECEDING-ITEM CUES IN SERIAL LEARNING

5 groups of 26 undergraduates each received 2 tests of the same 13-word serial list after fixed amounts of practice. 1 test measured serial acquisition and the other measured the effectiveness of 1 of the potential cues in the serial list. Performance on the 2 tests was compared to determine whether either positional or preceding-item cues by themselves could account for serial acquisition. Neither cue could account for all of the acquisition data, and both cues were most effective early in acquisition. Position cues were only effective at the ends of the list, and preceding-item cues were stronger than position cues throughout most of acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.