PART-WHOLE AND WHOLE-PART FREE RECALL LEARNING

The present study has demonstrated the reliability of the phenomena of part-whole and whole-part free recall learning originally described by Tulving. It has further shown that the effect of prior learning of either the part of the whole leads to negative transfer in comparison with prior learning of an unrelated list and no transfer at all in comparison with no prior learning. Finally, it has pointed to the old words as the locus of the disadvantage of the PW Ss at least through the sixth trial on the whole list. While several different analyses were performed in an attempt to test the interpretation of the phenomena in terms of SO, the results of these analyses were inconclusive as to the validity of this interpretation. © 1969 Academic Press Inc. All rights reserved.