Studies of distributed practice: XIII. Interlist interference and the retention of serial nonsense lists.

Underwood, Benton J.; Richardson, Jack

doi:10.1037/h0044147

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…However, there is no indication that for varying levels of interlist interference distributed practice will be followed by appreciably better retention than will massed practice , 1958. This is contrary to results found with serial learning where distributed practice gives better retention than does massed practice when interlist interference is high (Underwood & Richardson, 1955). It is this contradiction that is the focal point of the present experiments.…”

contrasting

confidence: 87%

Studies of distributed practice: XX. Sources of interference associated with differences in learning and retention.

Underwood¹,

Schulz²

1961

Journal of Experimental Psychology

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The present studies deal with learning and retention of pairedassociate lists as a function of massed and distributed acquisition. As interlist interference builds up across lists, distributed practice is more and more likely to facilitate paired-associate learning; this fact is quite clear if learning is carried to a fairly high level (Underwood & Richardson, 1958). However, there is no indication that for varying levels of interlist interference distributed practice will be followed by appreciably better retention than will massed practice , 1958. This is contrary to results found with serial learning where distributed practice gives better retention than does massed practice when interlist interference is high (Underwood & Richardson, 1955). It is this contradiction that is the focal point of the present experiments. The matter could, of course, be dropped by assuming that the contradictory results represent consequences of intrinsic and fundamental differences in paired-associate and serial learning. However, in the interest of empirical continuity across tasks, it does not seem appropriate to make such an assumption until more exhaustive analyses have been made.In the paired-associate studies referred to above, the lists were con-

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confidence: 87%

Studies of distributed practice: XX. Sources of interference associated with differences in learning and retention.

Underwood¹,

Schulz²

1961

Journal of Experimental Psychology

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“…By this argument a single rest should depress rather than facilitate performance. At the present time, the principle evidence supporting Underwood's hypothesis is that in learning lists of high interlist interference, the beneficial effects of distribution of practice come relatively late in learning, and with this sort of task, retention following distributed practice is superior to retention following massed practice (11). If this hypothesis is correct, the present data are most reasonably interpreted by the work decrement hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…The implication of this idea is that during the rest, or as a result of the rest, generalized responses (i.e., the responses from the other list) tend to become weaker. Underwood and his associates (9,10,11) have recently developed an interpretation of distribution of practice effects that postulates just the opposite. They have assumed that when there is high interserial interference between lists, distribution of practice is effective because of the repeated extinction of erroneous responses that spontaneously recover during the rest intervals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If this hypothesis is correct, the present data are most reasonably interpreted by the work decrement hypothesis. However, it should be pointed out that Hovland (3) found both reminiscence and facilitation of further performance under the conditions that Underwood and Richardson (11) suggest should minimize work inhibition. He obtained these results with 5s who had previously practiced many similar lists.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The influence of amount of prerest learning on reminiscence effects in paired-associate learning.

Riley¹

1957

Journal of Experimental Psychology

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“…As he has indicated (Underwood and Richardson 1955) There thus seem to be certain difficulties in the Hullian account, despite its merits.…”

Section: Shifting Of Attention 235mentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Perception and Communication.

indicated¹

1989

Contemporary Psychology: A Journal of Reviews

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their action upon their common paths seem to lie at the very root of the great psychical forces of attention '. There are two reasons why this line of approach is particularly topical at the present day.The first of them is a theoretical one the current popularity of language, derived from communication theory, for the statement of psychological problems. Owing perhaps to the accident that psychologists working on hearing are naturally those in closest contact with telephone engineers, this popularity has been at its greatest in the auditory field. It may well be that too much has been expected from a purely linguistic device, which by itself will not provide the answer to the problems of psychology-Gregory (1953) has rightly pointed out that considering the brain as a computing machine produces the old problem of * atomism or Gestalt ? ' in the new language of ' digital or analogue }\ But new vocabularies do involve some shift in basic assumptions, and perhaps the point of permanent value which will remain in psychology if the fashion for communication theory wanes, will be the emphasis on problems of capacity.The latter, in communication theory, is a term representing the limiting quantity of information which can be transmitted through a given channel in a given time : if we send Morse code with a buzzer we cannot send a dot and a dash at the same time but must send them successively. An array of X buzzers would allow us to send x dots and dashes at once, provided we had a listener who could distinguish them.* The fact that any given channel has a limit is a matter of central importance to communication engineers, and it is correspondingly forced on the attention of psychologists who use their terms. Any hypothetical account of brain function must in future consider on the one hand the size of the brain (how many buzzers there are) and on the other hand the rate at which that brain will make reactions to a given set of incoming stimuli (the number of dots and dashes per second). * We will give an amplified account of capacity in Chapter 3, but still in non-technical and therefore inexact terms. For precise definitions of this and other terms in communication theory, reference should be made to the excellent glossary given by MacKay (in von Foerster 1952). All such terms are used in this book with MacKay's definitions, though they are introduced in popular language. 6 PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION This possibility, that one chain of events physically excludes another, has been somewhat neglected in physiology and psychology, though not of course completely. Sherrington is a siriking instance to the contrary, since his account of competition between different reflexes for common paths is essentially based on questions of capacity. But any account in which completely separate neural areas or pathways are postulated for different activities, neglects the possible use of the concept of capacity to explain the interference of these activities: and these types of account are common. Pavlovian theory, for instance, ...

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Studies of distributed practice: XIII. Interlist interference and the retention of serial nonsense lists.

Cited by 17 publications

References 14 publications

Studies of distributed practice: XX. Sources of interference associated with differences in learning and retention.

Studies of distributed practice: XX. Sources of interference associated with differences in learning and retention.

The influence of amount of prerest learning on reminiscence effects in paired-associate learning.

Review of Perception and Communication.

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