Memory and the Learning Process (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ...of sense to the material, is thus seen to affect both speed of learning and retention in the same way, favoring quick learning and tenacity of retention. Another factor that affects the above two factors in the same way is the speed of reading. Ebbinghaus reports experiments' in memorizing stanzas of Schiller's translation of the Aeneid at the rate of 200, 150, 120 and 100 iambics per minute. At these rates he learned the same number of lines in 138,148,160, and 180 seconds, respectively, thus proving that the amount of time required varied inversely as the speed of reading. On relearning these lines twenty-four hours later he found that 90, 89, 96 and 99 seconds were required, thus showing, ' as far as permanence is concerned, a slight difference in favor of the more rapid rates. In performing these experiments, how 'Ersparnlsmethode.--See ."Method 3." page Oft. "'GruiHlzujte rter Psyeholofrle," 2d el.. 1911, pp. C72-07.'?. ever, Ebbinghaus did not consider the degree of exhaustion produced by the different rates. It is true a greater number of repetitions is required with the rapid than with the slow rates. He concluded that the fastest rate of reading is the most economical as concerns the speed of learning. In order to test the retention as well he relearned the stanzas twenty-four later, this time at the rate of 150 iambic feet per minute for all the stanzas. He found that the stanzas that had been originally read at the greatest speed and learned in the least time were also, on the whole, slightly better retained than those that had been read more slowly. After an interval of 8 days he again repeated this test with the same result. In 1887 G. E. Muller and F. Schumann, ' stimulated by the work of Ebbinghaus, set...