EFFECT OF CUE ALTERATION FOR ORDINAL POSITION ON ACQUISITION AND SERIAL POSITION CURVE FORM

Acquired a serial list of 8 2-digit numbers by standard serial position procedures, by 4 variations of the closed-cycle procedure, and by 5 variations of change in ordinal position trial by trial. All experimental treatments increased difficulty of acquisition. The closed-cycle procedure with a single presentation of an anticipation cue near the list middle was significantly more difficult than any other treatment and showed no serial position effect. Treatments consisting of 9, 11, 13, or 15 items per trial showed no significant differences. Therefore, control groups that learned 9, 11, 13, or 15 2-digit numbers were not necessary. In spite of the inherent confounding of sequence and ordinal position in serial learning, it was possible to maintain sequence and vary ordinal position so that difficulty of acquisition was increased and the serial position curve flattened, or eliminated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.