Ex pe ri m e n t To
N u m be r
e
of
De te rm i n e
Re p e t i t i o n s
Ne c es sa ry t o M e m o ri z e
a nd
R eta i n
Wit h M ax i m u m Ce rt a i n ty
ce l l a ne o u s
ct i o n
Co l l e
of
F a c ts
F ac ul ty of t h e G raduat e Sc h oo l
of
PE N N S LV AN I A
t t h e U N IV ERSI T
I n Part F ul il ment of th e R eq uiremen ts for t h e
D egree of D oc t or of Ph il osop hy
Esl S
p resen t ed t o t h e
!
!
f
B!
A E WAG N E R; P h D
.
.
h o n i n g Pa
,
!
1910
.
.
.
T h e N u m be r
Re p et i ti o n s N e c e ssa ry t o M e m o ri z e
A n d R eta i n W it h M a x i m u m C e rt a i n t y
of
A M i s c e l l an e o u s C o l l e c ti o n
of
Fa c t s
INT RO D U CTIO N
Th e J
e it S c h oo l fo r m o re t h n c e n t r y w e r e
th
u n r i v l e d l e d e r i n t h e e d c t i on l w orl d
Th e i r
im w
t o p r e p r e fo r l e d e r h i p i n t h e e v n g e l i a ti o n
f h u m n ity
T h e i r e n t i re y t e m w b a e d u p o n t h e
b e tte r to te c h
re l ti v e ly m l l
p r i n c i p l e t h t it i
m o nt in
th o r ug h m n n e r th n to g ive
i
d efi n i t e i m p re
i o n f m c h l a r g e r q n tity T h ey
re v i e w
E c h d y b e g n w it h
g v e freq u e n t re v i e w
of t h e t h i n g t u g h t o n t h p r e v i o u d a y ; e c h w e e k
e n d e d w it h a re i e w of t h e t h i n g p re e n t e d d r i n g t h i
t im
e c h e a r w c l o e d w i t h a r e v i e w of t h e w o r k
d on e t h t e r;
t h e n re v i e we d
d t h e w h ol e c ou r e w
T h e e n ti r e y t e m h d
o n e of i t
b y te c h i n g i t
m
l d i n g c h r c t e r i ti c f r e q u e n c f re p e t i ti n
d
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i r e d w r e l w y c e rt i n
Aft r t h e J
e u i t R t i k w t h e fi r t to re l i e
t h t e d u c t i o n l m e t h od m u t e c u r m ax i m u m c e r
i
t i n t of r e c ll
ob t a i n d b e t b y
d th t th i
r e p e tit i o n
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f h i m ax i m
w
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c o n t e n t t h o u g h h e fa il e d t o c o n t r u e o n e t h i n g
a
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a l e l e m n t i n t h i n k i n g a p o i n t o r u n it of
ect
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C o r n m n of C o l u m b i i n c o n n e ti o n w it h t h e p e ll i n g
I
i n v e ti g ti o n h e r e i n f t e r d e c r i b e d
attem p t
th
i m d e t o e c u r e i n f o r m ti o n l o n g t h
m e line
P r c ti c l p e d g o g y m k e
i t n e c e ry t h t w
ll
k n o w m o r e d e fi n i t e ly h o w t o e c r e t h
f
q
d R ti k
t h e m e t h o d of r e p e ti ti o n e d b y t h e Je u i t
d h w to v oid i t d efe t
Th i k n owl e d g e
n ot
b
gle n ed b y th e
p p l i c t i o n of t h e o r e ti c l p y c h o l o g y
b t m
t b d e r i v e d f ro m f c t c i e n ti fi c l ly d e t e r m i n e d
T h t c i e n ti fi c m e t h o d h o u l d b u e d i n p r o c r
i g p e d g og i c l k n o w l e d g e o r i n d r i v i n g f c t
up on
wh i ch p r i
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m ined
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p p li e d i
r oom
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to k n ow
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th
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ee ded b y h i ld re
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t o k n o w h w f r e q e n t t h r e p e tit i o n
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m
t b i n ord e r th t t h f c t m y b re t a i n e d w h e n
o n c e th e y
le rn e d
I n t h e e x p e r i m e n t of w h i c h
d e c r i p t i o fo l l o w
tt e m p t w m d e t o d e t e r m i n e
1
H
n ece
ry t o e c u r
w m n y r e p e t i ti o n
t h e m t e r y of f c t w i t h m x i m u m c e r t i n ty ; d
m u t oc c r
2 A t w h t i n t e r v l t h e r e p e ti ti o n
i n o r d e r t h t t h e m t e ry w h e n o n c e e c re d
m y b
ret i n e d
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3
FI R ST E !P E R I M E N T
When the e xp e r i m ent was fi rst begun i t seemed reason
ab ly certa i n to th e exper i m en t er that the w ritt e n for m o f repe
t i t i on wou ld b e the m o st d e s i rab le Qu e st i on s the an swer
to which cou l d b e given in a s i ngl e sentence or even a si ngl e
word were select e d an d g i ven i n order to avo i d the e l emen t
of j udg m ent i n det e r m i n i ng the relat i ve worth o f the an swers
and in order to i n sure with m a xi m u m ce rtain t y that the
an swe rs gi ven wou l d be either ent i rely correct or i ncorrect
I n st e ad however o f giving th e s i ngl e word des i red as the
a n sw e r to th e q uest i on
a nu m b e r o f th e ch ildren substituted
other term s fro m wh i ch it was i m po ss i bl e to deter m ine wh ethe r
they r etained th e m aj or portion o f the original p resen tation ;
o r whethe r a s the word u sed in an swer i ng o ften i ndicated
they reta i ned but a s m al l po rt ion o f the content of the word
de si red for an an swer wh ich th e or i gi nal presentation was
int e n ded to give I n a nu m ber o f instanc e s the words wh ich
we re u sed in an sweri n g the q u e st i on m ay hav e or m ay not
h ave signi fi ed that the ori g inal p resentation was retained In
“
w rit i n g the n a m es o f two rivers o f A frica as the M u rray of
Dar li ng i ns tead o f the M ur ray and Darl ing unless one i s w i ll
”
“
”
“
i ng to a ssu m e that the plac ing o f th e o f i n stead o f the and
wa s a m e re s l i p o f t h e pencil th e conclu sion that much of
the original presen tation w as no longer function i n g i s i nevi
”
“
table A s i mil a r illu stration occu r red w ith the words llanos
”
”
“
l epidodend ron Locu st M t and othe rs Were I to try
th e expe ri m en t again other for m s o f w rit i ng the an swer tha n
w riti n g m erely one word woul d be u sed
T he p re sentation o f the fact s i n each case was as cle a r
and as fu l l as the p resenter cou ld m ak e it A ll for m s o f pres
T he facts to be
en t a t i o n were u sed that could b e th o u ght o f
re m e m bered w e re i ll u strated by pictu res s tori e s and drawin gs
E ve ry form o f a p p er c ep t i o n a l contr i bution known to be ava i l
able wa s utilized
Some of the repet i tion s w e re c al led for b y the teache r
othe rs b y the ex pe rimente r T hat the nu m be r o f errors i s a s
s m a l l a s it i s m ay b e du e to th e fact that the des i re on the
pa rt o f th e teacher to hav e h er roo m m ake a good show in g w as
st ronger than h e r de si re to have the experi m e n t sci e nt i fically
accu rate
O nly such fac t s were p re sent e d as see m ed to be unknown
to the child r e n w ith who m the exper i m e nt was tried Som e
o f the se were selected because o f the i r l ocal si g nificance an d
b ecau se it wa s somewhat di f ficult to find fact s with which chil
y
m
d ren o f an enti re grou p who had co p l et e d an elementar
geography and h i stor y w e re un fa m i l iar Thi s i s especi ally true
o f the fact s that were u sed w i th the s e venth an d e ighth grades
T H E
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
”
,
,
,
.
"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
eighth grade and one an d one fou rth hou rs fo r the seven t h
grade When t he f ac t had been p re sented by the ex p er i
mente r th e answ er desi red fo r f u tu re repet ition s w a s w ri tt en
u pon the blackboa rd by hi m sel f an d upo n a sl i p o f paper by
the chi l d ren When all the fact s had be en p re sented these
pa p e r s were collected At each repetition the q u e stion s w ere
a sked by th e ex pe ri m ente r o r the teache r and the an sw er s w e re
w ritten u pon sl ip s o f pape r by the child ren i n th e same m anne r
a s s pell i ng word s are u sually w ritten The er ro rs were t hen
ma rked by t h e ch ild ren each retai n in g h i s o r her ow n sl i p t h e
expe r i mente r o r the t eacher repeating the corr ect an swe r s i n
thei r n umeri cal o rder E ach ch ild makin g an e r ro r w a s r e
q u i red t o w rite the co rrect an sw e r at the close
o f th e exe rci se
’
B e fore the paper s con tain ing th e ch i l d ren s an sw ers we re fi l ed
an d b e fo re the exerci se was ove r all p a pe rs w e re look ed ove r
by the experi m ente r or the teacher to avoi d hav ing m i stakes
pa ss unno t iced The n u m be r of re p eti t ion s a s i nd ica t ed on t h e
sheet s containi ng the results mean s th e n umbe r o f t ime s
that th ey we re w ritt en on pap e r excep t in the eigh t h grade
w here they we re repeated orally
Th e pape rs conta i ning the re su lts o f the fi rst r ep etitions
showed a lamen t able l ack on the p a rt o f the slow lea rners to
get the cor rect spelling o f the te r m s req u i red in th e ans wers
N o atte m pt wa s m ade to secu re cor rect spell ing by h avin g a
repe ti tion o f th e fact In giving the cor rect an s we r wh il e t h e
er ro rs w ere bein g ma rked th e teache r o r t h e ex p er im enter
spelled the word in stead o f say ing it I t i s po s sibl e that th i s
fo rm o f oral r e peti tion ai ded in i m p res sin g th e fact to be r e
m e m bered a s w ell a s the spel ling o f t h e w ord th at s t ood fo r
i t It wa s n eces sa ry to spell th e an swe r s five ti m es w ith the
si xth grade folks in o rde r to secu re m axi mum correctnes s o f
s pelling
wh il e wi th th e seventh it requ i re d bu t th ree an d w it h
the fi fth two
T he que stion s wh ich were given to th e fi fth grade w ith
the an sw e rs that we re d esi red follow :
I \M b at i m portant geographica l c i rcl e c ros ses S outh Am e ric a
nea r the mouth o f t h e Am azon R iver ? Th e E q uato r
2
Wha t impo rtant geographical ci rcle c ros se s S outh Ame rica
near the l oc ation o f th e city o f Rio Jan ei ro ? Th e
T rop ic o f Cap ricorn
?
Wh
at
sea
son
do
they
now
h
ave
a
t
B
u
enos
Ay
re
s
3
Autu m n
?
o
Wha
t
ocean
b
rde
rs
t
he
ea
stern
si
de
o
f
outh
Americ
a
S
4
Th e Atlanti c
u t he rn ex t remity o f S ou t h Am e ric a ?
h
a
t
i
sland
at
th
e
so
\
V
5
T e rra del Fuego
6
W hat cape at the sou thern ex t re m ity o f t hi s i slan d ? Cape
Horn
?
h
i
s
the
larges
t
rive
r
o
f
outh
Ame
ri
ca
Am
azon
a
S
V
t
\
7
-
,
.
,
,
.
‘
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
5
8
What st rait between Te rra del Fuego an d S outh America
Strai t o f M agel l an
What
i
s
the
i
s
l
and
at
the
mouth
of
the
O
rinoco
Rive
r
9
and fo r what i s it noted ? Tr in i dad noted fo r pit c h
10
What m oun tain s along the wes t e rn coa s t o f S outh
A m e rica ? An des
?
m
m
1 1
How are the su i ts du ring the enti re year S now
cove red
1 2
What th ree i m po rtant mine ra l s are found in these moun
tain s ? Gold si l ver and coppe r
?
1 3
Wha t three an i m als inhabit the Andes region s
Condo r
l la m a and alpaca
I4
N a m e two h ighland re gi on s o f Sou t h Ame ri ca Ande s
an d B raz ili an
1 5
Wh e re i s the rainiest r e g i on o f the wor l d ? Along th e
A m azon
1 6
Na m e th ree valuable trees that grow in S o u t h Am erica
M ahogany rosewood an d in dia rubber
1 7
Wha t i s the na m e giv en to the plain s a l ong th e O rinoco
?
Ri v e r Ll anos
1 8
What two season s do th ey have in Venezuel a ? The Rainy
and the Dry
What n a m e i s given to the plain s a l ong the Amazon ?
19
S ilva s
20
A b ou t h o w m any m il e s f rom the most no r t hern to t he
m ost south ern point o f South America ? About 1 50 0
A g lance at the q u es tion s w ill show tha t they al l r efe r
to S outh A m erica and that th ere i s noth ing l ike a logi cal o rde r
i n th e i r ar rangement The answ ers de si red to th ree o f the m
r eq ui re th r e e wo rd s ; si m i l ar i n the sen se that three o f these
a re m ine ral p roducts th ree a re th e na m e s o f an i m als and the
th re e r e m ain in g on es th e na m e s o f t rees The e ff ect o f th i s
a s sociation wi l l be noted i n the resu lt s
T he quest i on s wi th the an swers that w ere desi red wh ich
fo ll ow a r e th e on e s that were given to th e sixth grad e :
I About how l arge i s Au st ral i a ? Abou t as large a s t he
Un i ted States abou t 3 I 2 mi l lion s q u are m i les
2
How i s th e in ter i or po rt i on o f th e Au stralian continen t
?
w i th re s pect to h eat and m oi stu re
I t i s a desert
?
h
m
a
valuab
le
i
n
e
ral
i
s
ext
e
n
siv
e
ly
mined
in
Au
stralia
\V t
3
Gol d
?
What
i
s
the
l
e
ad
in
g
occu
pation
in
N
ew
S
o
uth
Wale
s
4
S tock rai sing
l
i
d
Sy
e
y
ha
s
an
exten
sive
t
rade
wi
th
ci t y i n th e
n
at
w
5
?
Un i ted States
San Franci sco
?
e
6
T o what rac e do the native t ri b s belong H ami t ic or
B lack R ac e
- f rui t
N
am
e
th
ree
im
portant
trees
o
f
Au
s
t
ralia
B
read
7
cocoa pal m and banana
?
.
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
,
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,
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6
8
.
Wh a t i s expor t ed f rom S ou t h Aus t rali a ? Wo ol grain
an d copper
What i s t h e rel igion o f th e na t ive t ribe s ? Cannib al i sm
N ame two o f t he mo s t noted citi es M elbou rne an d S yd
ney
How a re the Au st ralian co l o nie s un ite d ? I n t o t h e com
m on wea l t h o f A u stral ia
?
b
A ou t wha t i s the lati t u de o f M el bou rne
Abou t 40 de
grees S ou t h l ati tu d e
Wha t t h ree val uable f ru i t t rees grow i n Au s t ral ia ? B a
nana b rea d-f rui t and cocoa palm
By wh a t kin d o f people wa s Aus t ral ia colon ized ? E ngl i sh
convicts
?
m
When wa s the A u stra l ian Co monweal t h es t abli sh ed
,
.
9
.
1 0
.
.
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.
1 1
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.
1 2
.
I3
.
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-
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,
1
4
.
I5
.
.
Ja n
1
1 901
What are the t wo most impor t an t river s o f Au stral ia
M u rray and D arling
1 7
How f a r f rom A u s t ralia a re th e Fij i I sl an ds ? 1 2 0 0
miles ea st
1 8
Wh at i slan d n ear the southern coa s t o f Au s t ral ia i s
cove red w i t h den se forest s ? Ta s m ani a
1 9
I n w hat c ity o f A u st ral i a di d t h e lady l iv e who r ecen t ly
?
v i sited ou r school
B alla rat
?
0
m
What i s th e p rincipal an i al na t ive to A u st rali a
The
kanga roo
T he q u es t i on s th a t were u sed w ith the seven th grade we re
those t hat follow
?
I A bo ut wh at i s the a rea o f M auch Chunk Town sh ip
T w en ty s q u ar e m ile s
At the ba se o f wh a t m ountain i s t h i s school bui lding ?
2
Sha rp
Wh
a
t
moun
t
a
in
on
t
h
e
opp
site
si
de
o
f
Panther
C
reek
o
3
?
Valley
Locu s t
L
e
How
h
igh
above
th
e
sea
l
evel
i
s
the
Lehigh
River
at
4
high Ga p 389 fee t
?
0
Ab
ut
how
h
i
gh
abov
e
t
he
sea
level
i
s
M
t
Pi
sgah
I
o
34
5
fee t
?
W ha t i s th e m eaning o f N esquehon ing
N a rrow Valley
6
?
s
fi
s
e
A t w h a t p l a c e w a s C a r b o n C o u n t y r t e tt l d A t
7
G n a d e n H u tt e n
8
Write th e n ame o f t he rel igiou s sec t an d the leade r o f
tho se w ho made the fi rs t set t l ement
M oravians
Zi nzen do r f
I
n
dian
s
from
wha
t
two
t
ribe
s
di
d
th
e
M
oravian
s
t
ry
to
9
convert to Ch r i stian i ty ? Delaw a res an d M oh ican s
I O Wha t wa s th e nam e o f the fa m ily that the I ndians ca rr ied
int o captiv i ty ? G ilber t Fam ily
I I W ha t reli c o f thi s cap t i vi ty i s stil l to be seen in M auch
?
Chunk
A Moccas i n
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7
’
Whe re wa s the fir st white man s home bu il t in M auch
Ch un k Town shi p ? La u sann e
1 3
The bo yhood o f what fa m ou s arti st was spent at th i s
?
place
Rothermel
’
14
T o what man o f Wash ington s army di d Lydia D a r r h
give the in for m a t ion that the B riti sh general s h ad
planned an attack on t he A m erican s in her hou se ?
Colonel C raig of Carbon County
I 5
Who i s the most i nfl uen t ia l m an connected w ith the h i s
tory o f Carbon County ? Asa Packe r
1 6
What important rock strata have thei r ou tc rop a t M auch
Chunk ? M auch Chun k R ed S hale
I 7
\ V h a t laye r o f rock st rata for m s the top an d the bottom
o f th e coal m easu res ? P ottsville Conglomerate
1 8
What i s the th ickness o f the coal m easu res ? 1 8 55 feet
I
m
Wha
t
i
s
the
na
e
o
f
the
plant
that
formed
the
large
r
par
t
9
o f these coal st rata ? Lepi doden dron
20
What i s coal ? Locked U p sunlight
It wi ll be observed that the question s for thi s group ar e
q u estion s tha t deal w ith fact s tha t have onl y local v alue an d
that all o f th e m we re ext remely valuable and s ign i fican t to
th e group o f chi ld r e n to whom they were gi ven No t one o f
t h e group had p rev i ou sly had any idea a s to the area o f t he
town shi p in wh ich they lived Que s t ion s I and 2 re ferred to
the two m ountain s whi ch enclose d the val ley in which the
chil d ren l i ved
The na m es presen ted are those that were
appl ied b y th e P e nn s y lvan i a G e o l og i cal Su rvey A nu m be r
o f t h e ch i l d ren o f the group had na m es for these mountains
that they h a d gotten by trad i t ion but the na m e s were a s variou s
as they we re n u m erou s The e ff ect o f th i s lea rn i ng ano t he r
n a m e for the s a m e th ing w as not noted as ca re fully as it
but th e an swer s to these two q ues t ion s at
s hould hav e b e en
l east were not di ff e ren t enough f ro m the others to m ake the m
e s p ecia ll y not i c e able
Not any o f t he ch ildren had any i dea o f the h e ight o f the
mountain s in the m i dst o f which they l ived I n t h e p resenta
t i on of q uestion s 4 and 5 the heigh t o f a number o f t h e moun
t a i n s in the county was tol d to the c hild ren but only the
h i ghe st and the l o west poin t was re q ui red The re m embe r
i ng o f the se n u m b e rs p r e s e nted no unu sual d i ffi culty and the
t i m e o f fo rgetting w as too short to really dete rmine though
i t i s pos s i b l e that th e nam e s wou ld s tick longer than t he figu res
Question s 7 an d 1 0 re f e r to I ndian m assacres and r a i n s
that we re m ade on th e inhabitants of the region a f t e r the
T he stori es o f these mas sac re s with
d e feat o f B raddock
t h ei r eth ical signi ficance was g iven during th ei r pre senta t ion
The sam e i s tru e o f 8 9 and I I
The story re fe rred to in I 4 wa s new to nearly a l l o f the
’
ch il d ren and Colonel Craig s connection w ith it th ey had n ever
1 2
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8
known though a nu m ber o f them knew many o f t he Craig
d escendan t s
With num b e r 1 5 wa s p resented the n avigation o f t he Le
high t he buil ding o f th e Leh igh Valley Rai l road an d t he foun d
i ng o f Lehigh Un ive rsity
The geolo gi c a l s t ra ta re ferred to in the rem aining que s
ti o n s w e r e explain e d an d i llu st rated by d raw ings an d exam pl es
an d atten t ion w as called to a collection o f s t rat a near t h e school
bui l ding where t h e rocks which were once fiat have b ee n
t il t e d in to an almost vert i cal po si t ion an d at t ain t o an al t i t u de
o f ove r 1 4 0 0 feet Th i s illu st ra t in g and ex pl ain ing w as es
l
l
i
ec
a
p
y t ru e o f q uestion s 1 9 an d 2 0
The qu es t ion s u sed w ith the eigh th grade w ere given
abo u t the time t he group was h av i ng its final review i n geog
r a ph y
I t w a s t he re fore somewhat di ffi cul t t o select geo
g ra p hi cal que stion s w ith w hi ch t he enti re group wa s en t i rely
u n fam il ia r The qu es t i on s t hat foll ow are the one s tha t we re
u sed :
I
What i s p rove d by the sh adow wh ich th e earth c as t s on
th e m oon ? That t he ear th i s r o un d
2
N am e t h e t h ree planet s n ea res t t he ea r t h
M ercu ry
Venu s M a r s
?
Wha t keep s bodi es on t he su r f ace o f t h e ea rth
G rav ity
3
What ch anges are cau sed by th e revolution o f the earth
4
a roun d the su n ? Change o f season s
?
m
Wh at in st ru en t do mar i ne rs u se t o det e r m in e di rec t ion
5
Compa s s
La t itu de i s m easu red on what lines ? M eridi an s
6
The
g
rea
t
highlan
d
s
o
f
the
contin
ents
for
m
a
grea
t
horse
7
?
h
m
shoe f ro
w ere t o W he re
Cape Horn to G ood
Hop e
0
0
Wh ich pl ane t ha s fou r moon s ? J upite r
?
Wh
ich
plan
et
ha
s
the
rings
a
tu
rn
S
9
1 0
How have mou n t ain s been formed ? By t h e foldi ng o f
the rock laye r
?
1 1
Wha t t erm i s appl ied to t he wea ri n g aw ay o f t he lan d
E rosion
G ive the mo s t noted example o f e rosion i n Ca rbo n
1 2
County Leh igh G ap
’
?
2 3 I -2 de
Wh at i s th e in cl ina t ion of the earth s axi s
grees
I 4
I f the earth incline d 33 I 2 degree s wh at w ou ld th e w i d th
?
2 3 degre es
o f t h e tempe ra t e zone be
What i s the name o f the path i n wh i ch the earth t ravel s
1 5
a roun d t he su n ? O rbi t
’
?
The Frig i d Zone i s col d becau s e t h e sun s r ays f al l how
1 6
S lanting
?
h
What
i
s
w
in
d
an
d
o
cau
sed
Ai r i n mo t ion cau sed
w
1 7
by it s un equal h ea t in g
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9
What u sually cau ses de se r t s ?
Mountain s or lack o f
the m
1 9
G ive the sc ientific na m e for the black race E th i opi an
20
Wh at p revents the poss i bi l ity o f bo iling eggs on the su m
m its o f the h ighest m ountain s ?
Atmospheric pres
su re
2 1
What ba rrie r cau se s the fauna o f Au strali a to di ff er f rom
?
the rest o f the world
T he oc ean
W ith the e i ghth grade each repe t ition wa s conducted ora l ly
du ring the variou s part s o f the day indicated Thi s woul d
g i ve the in divid ual s that w e re not rec i ting an oppo rtunity to
h e ar I 7 repe tition s ; since however indiv idu al s w e re c a lled
u pon a t i rregular p e riod s o f the day such as sui ted the con
ven i en c e o f th e t e ache r or pup i l
it i s p roba ble the attention
o f each pupil was concentrated on some p e rsonal and indivi d
ual task an d th at not n e a rly seventeen repetition s were heard
by any one p upil
In con ducting th i s experi m ent such di sposal of the di ffi
c u l t i es that p re s e nted th em selve s wa s m ade a s t he exigenc i e s o f
the ca se s ee m ed to wa rrant
The results are re li able only
Among the
t o the ex tent o f being rea sonably approxi m ate
factors wh ich p revented th e ex pe rime nt f ro m being sc i en t i fi
cally accu rate a re th e follow ing :
I T he nu m b e r o f individual s w ith whom the ex p er i
men t wa s tried w as t oo s m all T he expe ri m ent should b e
t ried with a large numbe r o f p u p il s several thou san d
2
T he n umbe r o f slow lea rne rs varied in several o f t he
g roups an d wou l d p ropo rt ionately m odi fy t h e show ing o f th e
g roup
The
pe
riod
du
rin
g
which
the
experiment
was
con
3
du ct ed wa s enti r e ly too short to conclude tha t the fact s pre
sen t ed and repeated were fixed w ith m ax imum ce rtain ty o f
pe r m anent recal l I t took but a very sho rt ti m e u ntil the fact s
’
we re fixed bu t th e ter m s clo se w as too near to allow th e
i n terval betw e en the va riou s repetition s to be con stan tly i a
creased
b
The
numbe
r
o
f
re
tition
s
w
a
s
modi
fi
ed
som
e
o
f
e
y
4
p
the ch ild ren u s ing the m a f t e r th e fou rth repetition i n thei r
playing school
T he bri ghter chil dren o f the fi fth grade
coul d re peat the q ue stion s and answ e rs a fte r the fou rth re p e
ti tion an d u sed the m in the b a l l a s lesson for thei r play school
In div idual s o f t h e other g rade s al so we re ob served to ask
the q u es t ion s at random o f each other
T
he
fact
s
should
alwa
y
s
b
e presented by the same
5
ind ividual so there could be as soci ated w ith each in divi dual
fact the sa m e bits o f i nte res t ing detail that would m ake all
the fact s e q ually well reme m bered by each group o f ch ild ren
and each fac t e q ually as f ull y apperceived
The de si re an d anxiety on the pa rt o f so m e o f t he
6
1
8
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10
t eache rs whose ch ildren we re expe rimented u p n to have the
r esul t s ap pea r well m ay hav e cau sed t hem to give h in t s during
th e rep e t i t ion s that slightly m odi fi ed t h e resu lts
I n s eve ral c s s the word req u i red for t he an swer
7
was correc t ly retained bu t t he con ten t w h ich t he pre sen t e r
h d hop ed t o conn ec t wi th i t pe rmanen t ly coul d
t be even
rep roduced in part and w as p robably en t i rely fo rgo t ten
8
An swe rs wer e received tha t w ere sub s t itu t es fo r th e
ones req u i red an d f ro m th ese an swe rs i t w a s im po s s i b le to
dete rmine w hethe r the ch il d had t he pr esenta t ion t ha t w a s
given o r wh eth e r app erce p t ion had m de such con t ribu t ion s
an d as socia tion had cau sed such rela ted i deas t o func t io t h t
’
o
.
a e
.
,
a
no
,
.
.
,
a
,
n
a
th e content in the learner s m in d no longer cor responded to
th at at the close o f the o rigin al p re sen ta t ion
I n an ex a m i n a i o n o f the fi fth and si xth yea r folk s that
wa s given at the en d o f the school yea r i n an swe r to t he gen
“
” “
e ral q uestion Tell all you can of S outh America
o f Au s
”
t r al i a ;
each in di vi dual inclu ded in hi s an swe r some o f the
fact s tha t w ere p resented i n t he expe riment O ne i ndivi dual
a fi f t h grade pupil inc l uded eighty on e p er cent an d no i n
d i vidual had les s t han t w enty per cent
The que stion rel ating to the forma t ion o f t he Au st ral ian
Fede ration th e date 1 90 8 w as sub s t i t u t ed fo r t h e one r e
q ui red by two individu al s on th ree di ff e ren t repet ition s
I n t he ca se o f q uest ion s t hat w ere so f ramed a s t o r e
q u i re two o r mo re word s for an an swe r du ring th e ea rl ie r
repetit ion s i t h ap p en ed tha t only par t o f t he requ i red an swe r
w a s recallable ; th i s sam e thing d id not occu r du ri ng t he l ate r
repeti t ion s du e pos sibly to th e fact th a t the associa ti on s b e
tw een the variou s pa rt s o f the a n swer b eca m e m ore pe rma
nen t as th e re sul t o f the oral repetition s o f the errors t ha t
we re m ade du ring the w ri tten repetition
By an exam inat ion o f the sh e ets containing th e result s i t
w ill be seen t ha t the fi fth grad e folk s p racti cally kn ew the
t w enty q ue stion s at the en d o f t he fou rth repe tition the s ixth
yea r folk s by th e en d o f the fi fth repet i tion th e seven t h yea r
folk s by t he en d o f t he fou rth rep etition an d t he eighth
yea r folks by t he end o f the th i rd repe t iti on Ave raging these
app rox imation s the s t atement might be m ade th at the t wenty
fac t s we re lea rned w ith fou r repetition s
That the ou t c o m e o f the ex p eri m en t shoul d be a s i t i s
su rpri ses no one m ore th an m y sel f
Though t hese resul t s
lack ab sol ute exactness they a re su f fic iently ex act to give
u s the i n forma t ion n eces sary to di rec t intell igen t ly ou r f u t u re
educa t ional me t hod an d ai d u s in the in t ell igent selectio n o f
ou r edu ca tion con t ent
I t i s a ccu ra t e in a su f ficient degree
to ind icate to u s th e kin d o f m e t hod t hat shoul d be u se d
t o fi x essent ial con t ent The e ssen tial fea t u re o f t h i s m et h od
m u s t be not several repetition s i n a short pe riod o f t im e ;
.
,
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1 1
a rela tiv ely small nu m ber o f repetition s with a con s t antly
i nc rea s i ng int e rval o f ti m e b etween the repe t ition s that con
t i n u e th rough rather a long pe riod
I n the r e sult s which follow the number s along the le f t
hand s i de o f the colu m n o f fi gu re s i nd icate t h e nu m ber of
pu p i l s Absence s a re indi cated w i th a c ros s The num b e rs
b elow the repeti t i on s a s ind icated at the top o f the column s
denote the n u m be r o f errors that w e re m ade by the variou s
i nd i vidu al s T h e date at the top of each col umn mean s tha t
the re p etition was con d u cted upon that day
.
bu t
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12
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16
O N D E !P E R I M E NT
Th e fac t s wh ich a re a sked for in t h e follow ing q ue s t ion s
a re t he ones t hat were u sed in t he expe rime t t o de termin e
the n umbe r o f rep t ition s tha t would b e n eces sary t o fi x t hem
w ith max imum cert in ty :
I Wh t i s the area o f you r county Abou t 4 s quare
mile s
Where w as it fi rs t ettle d
A t Leh igh t on
Wha
t
fi
ve
p
er
son
s
a
re
con
spicuou
sly
conn
ec
t
e
d
w
i
t
h
i
t
s
3
se tt lemen t
Wh i t e H az rd Hau t o H illegas and
T H E SE C
.
.
n
e
a
.
?
a
00
.
2
?
s
.
.
.
?
a
,
,
,
Ci s t
’
?
E
Wha t ni ckname w a s appl ie d t o Robe r t
Lee s fa t her
Li ght Horse H arry
How m any fee t abov e sea l evel i s th e h i ghes t poi n t of
?
1 7 35 fee t
y 0 u r county
Wha t i s the m ean ing o f th e I ndi a n n ame Towamen sing ?
Wi l derness
\V hat fi ve p e rson s a re connec t ed w ith t he wal kl n g p ur
?
E dw ard M arshall J a mes !
cha se
ea t s S olomo n
Jen nings John Penn an d Tom Penn
What was t he mos t impo rtant sentence u t t e red by Pat
rick H enry i a the Congress a t P hiladelphia w h ich
”
“
?
h e at t ended
I am not Vi rgi ni an but a n American
\V h at w as th e value o f the mos t impo r t an t comme rci al
?
p roduc t produced i n you r local i t y in 1 90 7
Coal
.
4
.
5
.
.
.
6
.
.
7
.
,
,
.
,
8
.
'
.
,
9
.
,
1 0
.
W h at i s com m e rci ally the m os t importan t rive r i n t he
world ? The Ch icago
N a m e th e five la rge st c i tie s o f the Uni t ed S ta t e s w i t h
thei r app rox i m ate population
N ew !
o rk 4 m il
lion s ; Chicago 2 m ill ion s ; Ph iladelph i a I m illio n ;
Boston 64 9 thou san d ; S t Lou i s 60 2 thou sand
Wh at di d Pau l Reve re say t o t he m en wh o w ere gu a rd
i ng t he hou se i n wh ich H an cock an d A dam s we r e
’
“
slee p i ng ?
Noi se !!ou ll soo n hea r noi se enough
”
the Regu lars are com in g
H ow m any m en w ere los t by th e B riti sh an d t h e Am eri
?
can s a t the battle o f Lexington A m e ri can s 93 B ri t
i sh 2 7 3
\V hat five geologi cal stra t a have t hei r ou tc rop i n you r
local i ty ? Pott sv ille Conglom era t e Pocono S an d
Stone M auch Chunk Re d S h ale Coal M ea s ure s
O ri skany S an d S ton e
N a m e one o f t he two im po r t an t poli t ical in s t i t u t ion s b e
gu n in Vi rgini a i n 1 6 1 9 S l avery or rep resenta t ive
government
Wh a t d id Li ncoln say wh en h e hea rd o f the cap t u re o f
“
Vi ck sbu rg ?
Th e fathe r o f wa t e rs n o w roll s n u
”
vexed to t he sea
.
1 1
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
1 2
.
.
,
,
.
I3
.
,
.
1
4
.
,
,
,
.
1
5
.
.
.
1
6
.
.
,
17
Abou t how m any m en d id the Un i ted State s lose by the
Civ i l Wa r ? About
18
What i s the na m e that is ap plied to the plant from which
a large part o f th e coa l was for m ed ? Lep i do den
d ro n
1 9
N a m e five m en f ro m P enns y lvan i a who si gned the D ec l a
ra tion o f I ndependence Robe rt Morri s Benj a m in
Frankl i n B e nj a m in Ru sh Ja m es W il son Jam es
S m ith
George Ross George Taylo r and Morton
Cly m er
“
20
What w e re th e last word s o f Stonewall Jack son ?
Let
u s c ros s over th e river and lie down unde r th e sh ade
o f the t rees
I n the l i ght o f the results obtained in the expe ri m ent o f
the year be fore it se e med advi sable to continu e the wo rk o f
th i s year along the sa m e general l ine but un der somewhat
d i ff erent condi tio n s
Whereas in the previou s e xpe ri m ent
al l known avai labl e mean s were u sed to m ake the first pres
en t a t i o n e ff ective i n a m ax i m u m degree
in th i s investigat ion
no a tte m pt at emphas i s or exp lan ation o f any kind wa s made
The fact s to be lea rn ed in the second expe riment were very
m uch m o r e num erou s than i n the fi rst les s likely to b e ea s i ly
a ssociated w ith any fact s wh i ch the ch ild ren al ready knew
an d m uch more l ikely to con tain di ffi cul t ies o f co m p rehen s i on
a n d unde rstan din g
E specially un related to anyth ing in t h e
’
child ren s exper i ence were the fac ts called for in q ue s tion
M u ch o f what children are requ i red t o
n umbe r fou rteen
lea rn in school i s l ike G reek to th e m and it wa s d ee m ed a d vi s
able b y th e m e m b e rs o f t h e Se m ina r to det e rmine how th e
l earn i n g o f such facts as to th e m have p r o b ab l v no meanin g
o r bu t l ittl e m e a n i n g co m p a r e d w ith the l e arning o f fac ts such
a s a re read i ly assoc iated by them or w e r e m ade associable by
the ex p e ri m e nter In the fi rst exp eri m en t ca re was ta ken to
select only such facts a s seem e d es senti al o r w ould be tau g ht
as part o f the reg ula r con tent o f the year In the second i n
vest i g a t i o n an attem p t wa s m ade to have the facts as hetero
u
e
a
s
o
ssibl
e
an
d
a
s
n
me rou s as could be re p eated du r
e
n
o
u
s
p
g
In the fi rs t ex
i n g one contin uou s pe riod o f m e ntal e ff ort
h
facts
we
re
relatively
few
and
resented
i
n
the
n
r
i
m
t
e
e
t
e
p
p
m ost e ff ective m ann e r known i n connection with the re gula r
wo rk o f the class in t h e su b i ec t to which they belonged ; i n
the secon d the y a re q uite heterogeneou s as n umerou s a s pos
si b le a l m ost non s en se s y llables in m any case s and presented
w i thou t in stru ction or ex p l ana tion
The q u estion s nu m b e red 1 5 9 1 7 re q ui re one nu m be r
T he q u e st ion s num
f o r an a n sw e r whi le 1 3 re q ui res two
b e red 2 6 1 0 and 1 8 a r e an swer e d with one
n umb e r
Nu m b e rs 3 and 7 re q u i re t
d i vi d u a l s b u t nu m be r 1 1 need s for its
1
7
.
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.
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,
,
,
,
,
,
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”
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,
,
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,
;
.
,
,
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,
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.
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,
.
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,
,
,
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.
18
five c it ies w ith wh ich it wa s supposed t hat each ch ild i a
clu ded i n the t es t w as fai rly f am il ia r an d a fter the n ames o f
these ci t ies h e wa s requ i red t o w ri te the n umbe rs wh ich r ep r e
sented t hei r ap prox ima t e p op ula t ion Th ree o f these num be r s
he was req ueste d t o w ri t e by p r efi x i n g the fi g u re s 4 2 an d 1
be fore th e wo rd m ill ion and t h e othe r two o f t he fi ve n um
ber s requ i red to an sw er q u est ion n umbe r 1 1 i t wa s nece s sary
fo r h im t o w ri t e 64 9 and 60 2 b e fo re the word t hou sands Q ue s
tion n umbe r 1 4 i s an swe r e d by fi ve term s al l o f wh ich w ere
new to the chi l dren rather di f fi cul t to spell an d abou t a s d i ffi
cul t to remember for mos t o f the ch ild ren a s non sen se syl la
ble s u sually a re A s an an swe r for ques t ion num be r 1 9 t he
five na m es o f fi v e signers o f t he Decla ration o f In depen dence
w hich w e re pl aced fi rst in the l i s t w e re mo st fre q uently w rit
ten W ith a t lea s t th ree o f th ese al l o f the ch ildre n in th e test
were fam il ia r and i t i s q ui te p robable t hat the chi ld ren h ad
m et all o f th e name s a t some time du ring t hei r school ca ree rs
E very t ime that th e an swe r for n umber 1 9 w as repea t e d t he
nam es o f the eight men w e re repea t ed bu t t he ch il d ren w e re
n eve r requ i red to w r ite more th an fi ve
Qu estion numbe r 4 t hough grou ped w ith t he quo t a t ion s
i s in fact only a ni ck n ame o f t h ree wo rd s and each o f these
i s easily
remembered The an swer t o q uestion s numbe r 8
1 2
i s a short q uotation a s socia b l e w i th facts
I 6 an d 2 0
w ith wh ich the chil d ren a re al ready fai rly fam iliar bu t i s th e
exp re ssion o f an idea i n a fo rm that w as enti rely new Th e
gene ral natu re o f the q ues tion s may be readily seen f rom t he
follow ing su m m ary :
N u m be rs 1 5 9 1 3 1 7 a re an swe re d by a fi gu re
N um b e rs 2 6 1 0 1 5 1 8 a re an swered by one word
N u m b e rs 3 7 I I 1 4 1 9 a re an swe red by fi ve wo rd s
N umber s 4 8 I 2 1 6 2 0 a re an swe red by a q uo t ation
The d i rec tion s w hich we re given t o the variou s teache r s
fo r con du c t i n g the experiment we re a s follow s :
I Th e teacher w ill read the fi rst ques t ion
Th e teac h er w ill read the an swer to the fi rs t q ue stion
2
Th
e
pu
p
il
s
w
ill
w
ri
te
the
an
swe
r
to
th
e
fi
rst
q
uestion
3
on sl ip s o f pap e r p re p a red for the pu rpo se
The
t
eacher
w
i
ll
read
t
he
second
q
ue
s
t
ion
4
Th
e
t
each
er
w
ill
read
t
he
an
swe
r
to
the
secon
d
que
s
5
t ion
The pu pil s w ill w rite the an swer to the second q ue s
6
t 1 on
The
teache
r
w
ill
read
t
he
t
h
i
rd
q
ue
stion
7
The t each e r w ill rea d the an swe r to t he th i rd q uestion
8
The
pu
pil
w
ill
w
ri
t
e
t
he
an
swer
to
the
th
i
rd
question
9
T h u s the t each e r w ill contin u e t o rea d the que st i ons
1 0
an d then the an swe rs an d t he pup il s w ill t hu s con t inue t o w ri te
the an sw ers unti l all t h e q uestion s an d an swers h ave been
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
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,
,
,
.
,
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,
,
,
,
,
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,
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,
,
,
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,
,
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,
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,
19
read and all the answers hav e been w ri tten T he p ape rs will
then always be sent to the pr i nc i pal
1 1
T h e teache r w ill th e n collec t the papers on wh ich
the answe rs we re w ritten and send them t o the pri nc i pal
1 2
At a l l later r e pet i tions the teacher w i ll read t h e q u e s
t ion s only but a l ways in the o rder in wh i ch they are n u m ber
ed T h e pup il s w i l l w rite the an swe r to each q ues t ion i m m e
d i a t el y a ft e r i t has b een read
1 3
Thu s they w i l l conti nue unt i l the fact s a re learned
the p r i ncipa l w i l l alway s fix the date at which a repet i t i on o f
the fact s i s to be m ade
1 4
A t th e close of each repetit i on a fte r the pape rs h ave
been col l ected the teachers wil l aga i n read t he q uestion and
an swers in such a way that the read ing o f each ques t ion w i ll
b e fol l owed by the reading o f th e an swer i n regular succession
The d i rec tion s we re gi v en in thi s fo rm in the hope o f
secu ri ng uni for m i ty T o have each child w rite the an swer as
i t w as pres e nted to h im i m medi a t ely a fter the fi rst q uestion
wa s r e ad a t the fi rst p resen tation gave all an equal oppo rtunity
to ge t the imp ression clearly and by w riting it there wa s
m aximum certainty that t h e i m pre ssion w as received cor rect
ly
When the an swe r that wa s re q ui red had once b ee n d efi
n i t el y fi xed
the l i kelihood was that each fo l low i ng repet i t i on
wou l d bring the re spon se requ i red O ral re p etition w as pra e
tically i m po ssible be cause o f t h e t i m e i t wou l d h ave r e qu i red
I t was dee m ed w i se to repeat the correct an swer to each o f
th e q uestion s immed ia te l y a fte r the children had ma n e an
atte m pt to an swe r the m since i t was suppo sed that each ch i ld
wou ld li sten with close att ent io n fo r the an swer s which he
w a s con sc i ou s o f having m i s sed Rep e ating t he q uestions an d
an sw ers a fter each repeti t i on had th e advantage o f making
t h e re p et i tion uni for m for each in div idual o f the group absent
one s howeve r excepted On the sheets c on tainin g the result s
a b sentees a re in dicated by an add i tion sign
I t i s i mpo s sible to dete r m i ne j u st how fai th fully the d i r c e
t i on s w e re followed In the high school the expe r i menter h im
sel f was p res e nt a t each repe tit i on and the p robabil ity i s that
t h e resu l ts on th e h igh school sheet rep re sent the honest e ff ort
o f t h e g rou p du r i ng the ti m e the experi m ent wa s in progress
accord i ng to th e d i rect i on s a s given Ju st how to accoun t for
s uch ph e no m enal i m p rovements a s a d rop f rom twen t y ei ght
er rors to fiv e or f ro m thi rty to one as i s in dicated in numb e rs
1 8 an d I 9 i s rathe r pe rplexing That i t may have been po ssible
for these ind i v i d u al s to have m ad e a copy o f the an swers as
th e y we re being repeated by the exper i m en t e r i s true but not
l ikely E special vigilance on th e part o f the th r ee teachers in
t h e r oo m at the t i m e wou l d pro b abl y h ave detected the indi
T he individuals
vi d u a l s w riting had an y of the m atte m p t e d it
a re apt l earne rs and it i s m y b e l ie f that th e y si m p l y re m e m
.
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-
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20
be red t he fac t s
The inte rval s be tween t he repeti t ion s w ere by no m ean s
un i form A s s ta t ed be fo re the fi rs t exp e rimen t con d uc t e d
i n connection w ith work t h e Pedagogical S emina r had to do
wi t h t he lea rning o f f ac t s tha t would ord inarily occu r in con
n ec t i o n w i t h t he regula r school work un der ord inary no rmal
school cond ition s a s nea rly as poss ible The secon d di ff ered
from the fi rst in th a t t he f acts t o be learned w ere m uch more
nume rou s and had bu t little connec t ion wi t h the regular school
work an d w ere p resented w i thout any a tt empt t o make the
p resenta t ion as e ff ective a s possibl e
I n t he resul t s t ha t follow t he n umber o f pu p il s the n um
be r o f erro rs an d the date of t he repeti t ion i s indi ca t ed a s i n
t he fi r s t experi ment The reco rd ma rke d S ixth an d S eventh
grade was m ade by a grou p of c h i d r en in these grades t h a t
w e re ta u ght i n th e sa m e roo m by t he same teacher T hose
ma rked A G ra m ma r rep resen t t h e re sul t s o f t he e ff ort s o f the
e ighth grade pu pi l s wh ile t hose marked H au to w e re made by
t he grade s in dicated all being taught in t he same roo m by one
teach er
The result sheets fo r the h igh school and the seventh
grade ex plai n them selves since al l the factor s reco rded a re
in dicated j u st a s on the p reviou s resul t sh eets
The s hee t
m a rk ed S u m m ary o f E r rors i s a tabula t ion o f t h e e rrors that
we re m ade by th e va r iou s grou p s whose record in the secon d
expe ri m ent have p receded The number s and lette rs in the
le ft han d col u m n i nd icate th e n umbe r an d par t o f the variou s
q u estion s The n umbe rs in the succeeding col u m n s t ell how
m a n y e r ror s w ere m ade by t h e g roup s in an swe ring t h at pa r
t i c u l a r q r est i o n whose numbe r i s in di cated by the fi gures i n
t h e le f t h an d column
The respec t i ve groups and th e n umbe r
o f pupil s that w ere i n each i s in dica t ed at the t o p o f each
c o lu m n T h e numbe r i n th e ri gh t h an d colu m n in d icate s th e
n umbe r o f error s that w ere made i n an swer in g the question s
“
i n d icated by th e enti re group O n the sh ee t m a rked Fact s
A r ranged according t o N umbe r o f E r ror s t he fi gu re i n t he
fi r st col umn in d icate s th e n umbe r o f the q u es t ion the n umbe r
in th e secon d colu m n the enti re number o f er ro rs that w e re
m ade w ith t h e pa r t icula r q u estion an d in th e t h i rd col umn
are the an s we rs des i red o r a word de scribing the an sw er th a t
w as ex ep ec t ed to be g iven
O n ave raging the n um b e r o f repe t i tion s t ha t were re
q u i red to lea rn the fact s by the va riou s ind iv idu al s the follow
ing fact s ap peared :
Aver a ge nu m b e r o f repeti t ion s re qui red by h igh sch ool
p upils 6
Ave ra g e n u m ber o f repe ti t ion s re qu i red by si x t h an d
seven t h g rade
Ave rage number o f repetition s re q ui red by seventh gra de
.
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
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.
”
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21
7 -5
Average numbe r o f re p et ition s req u i red by A G rammar
grade 6
Ave rage nu m be r o f repe t ition s requ i red by Hauto Pupil s
.
6
b l e tha t t he
conclu
sion
would
f
rom
t
h
i
s
be
j
u
s
tifia
e
facts were learned i n about seven repet ition s
.
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,
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Su m
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1
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224
2 76
398
1
5 3
95
27
F a c ts
a
r ra n g e d
a
to
cc ordi n g
n u m b e r of e r r o r s
N i ck n a m e
C h i c ago
O ne N um ber
One Number
W i l d e rn e s s
Q uot at ion
Fa m i l i a r N a me
Qu ot a t i on
Number
Pack e r tow n )
S l av e ry o r R e p G ov
H au to to w n
Number
Nu mber
Po tt s Con g tow n
Num ber
C i ty
Num ber
Te rm Rh odo de n d ron
H a z a rd T o w n
Q u ot at i on
M ar s h al l u n fa m i l i a r n a m e
Ci s t u n fa m i l ia r n am e
Rob e r t M o rri s
H i l l e ga s u n fam i l i a r n am e
Poc on o San d s ton e
J a m e s !ea t s u nfam i l i a r n a m e
S olo m on J en n in g s un fam i l i ar n am e
M a u c h Ch un k R ed S h al e
Ch i c ago 2 m i l l
B e nj a m i n Ru s h
P h il a I m il l
4
.
10
.
I
.
1 2
.
.
.
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J oh n P en n
F ran kl i n
S olom on J e n n i n g s
O ri sk an y S an d s ton e
Coa l M e a s ure r fa m i l i ar
J am e s S m i th
M orton Clym e r
S t Lou i s 649 t hou s
B o s t on 60 2 t h ou s
.
.
.
41 3
(
.
.
,
.
,
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)
.
28
T H E TH I R D E
!P E R I M E NT
.
I n t he l igh t o f t he resul t s ob t ained in t he p reviou s ex p er
i m en t s it seemed adv i sable t o t ry t o de t e rm ine how t he lea rn
ing o f forgo tt en fac t s compare d w i t h t h e resul t s i n forme r
ex p e riments I n o rde r t o make th i s compari son t he follow ing
li s t o f que s t ion s wa s selec t ed t o be u sed w i t h t he pupil s i n t he
high school A ll t he ch ild ren now in t h i s school w e re t augh t
in t h e A G ramm a r room by t he same t eacher He decl ares
t hat every pupi l who pas se d t h rough h i s room a t one t ime
knew t he f act s called f or in th e ques t ion s
The expe rimen t was con duc t ed by t he exp erimen t e r i n
acco rdance w ith t he d i rec t ion s given for t h e secon d expe riment
excep t t h a t the re w as no fi r st p re sen t a t ion o f the facts I t
wa s as sume d t ha t each pup il w a s fam ilia r w i t h t he fac t s and
th e fi rs t exerci se o f t hi s ex p e rimen t w as conduc ted j u s t as
w a s the fir st repe t i t ion in t he fi rs t a n d secon d experi men t The
in te rv al wa s a rbi t ra ri ly fi xed a t a w eek t hough t he resul t s
would n o doub t have been somewh a t be tt er had t h e in t e rval
been sh or t e r The nu m b er o f q u estion s w a s so ar ranged a s
t o req ui re the w ri t ing o f abo u t a s many f acts a s w e re req ui re d
in t he secon d ex p e rim ent Th i s i t w a s t hou ght woul d m ake
the ma t te r o f com pari son somewha t simple r The ques t ion s
u sed follow :
I
I
How many degrees from t h e n or t h pole t o t he
?
equato r
90
2
I n wha t yea r wa s t he ordinance passed wh ich re
?
lated t o the governmen t o f the Nor t hwe s t Te rri tory
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
.
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
8
7 7
.
I
n
wha
t
yea
r
wa
s
Jame
stown
se
tt
led
1 609
3
?
1
1
Wh
en
w
as
th
e
Paci
fi
c
O
cean
di
scovered
4
5 3
?
8
1
8
I
n
wha
t
yea
r
wa
s
t
he
M
exi
can
Wa
r
begu
n
4
5
I I n who se a dm in i stra t ion d i d the ’Pre s iden t re fu se
?
to s i g n t he B ank Char t e r
Jack son s
?
I
n
whose
adm
ini
st
ration
w
a
s
Lou
i
sian
a
p
u
rchased
2
’
J e ff e r son s
I
n
whose
adm
in
i
s
t
ration
was
th
e
econd
Wa
r
S
3
’
?
w i t h E ngl an d
M a di son s
?
4 I n wh at wa r w a s t he B a t tle o f Long I sland fough t
Revol ution ary
?
ff
e
To
wha
t
par
t
y
d
id
Thoma
s
Je
erson
b
long
5
An t i Fede ral i s t s
?
M a daga s
Wh a t l a rge i slan d south eas t o f A f rica
1
car
?
W ha t ocean sou t h o f H i n doo st an
I n d ian
2
?
E
Wh
at
moun
t
ai
n
range
be
t
ween
u
ro
e
an
d
A
sia
p
3
U ral
?
4 Wh at rive r be t we e n th e Uni t ed S t ate s an d Canada
S t La w ren ce
ex t er m i t y o f
What
cape
a
t
t
h
e
southe
rn
Sou
t
h
5
America ? Cape Horn
?
.
.
.
.
.
II
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
III
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
29
B y whom was South A m er i ca di scovered ? Col um
bu s
2
Who p robably was the o r i g i nator o f the M on roe
Doctr i ne ? J
Ada m s
?
By
what
title
i
s
th
e
rule
r
o
f
T
u
rkey
known
3
S ultan
4 How m any years di d Wash i ngton serve a s P res
?
d
i ent E i ght
5 What l eader cru sh e d th e Creeks and S eminoles
i n Flo rida ? J ackson
V
I N am e i n thei r o rder five rebell ion s that
have occu r
’
’
red i n ou r hi story
a)
C l a ybourne s b Bacon s
c)
Whiskey d Dorr e )
Grea t Rebell ion
V I For what achi evem en t a re the follow ing m en noted ?
1
T ho m a s A E di son
2
S F B Morse
d
G
eo
B
M
ea
e
3
E
i
l
Wh i t ney
4
E
lias
Howe
5
V I I B e g inn ing wi th Florida na m e five States in succes sion
t hat bo rder on the Atlantic O cean Florida G eorgia
South Car ol ina North Ca rolina an d Vi rginia
V I I I 1 What i s the capital o f Ge rmany ? Be rlin
2
What i s t h e ca p ital o f Cuba ? H avana
?
In
what
coun
t
ry
i
s
Sydney
located
New South
3
Wales
?
In
wha
t
country
i
s
Buenos
Ay
re
s
loca
ted
A rge n
4
tine R ep ublic
?
In
what
country
i
s
Ven
ic
e
located
Italy
5
I ! S tate b r i e !
y the substan ce o f the Mon roe Doc t rine
For any E uro p ean countr y to t ry to ga i n do m inion
in A m e rica w ill be considered an u n friendly act by
th e United S tates
O f the fo rty on e p ossibl e erro rs the best record was made
by a boy who w rote all o f the an swers correctly except s e ven
and th e po orest reco rd was made by a gi rl who mi ssed thi rty
s ix
No on e was m ore su rpri sed than t he experi m enter to
l ea rn t h at so m any o f the facts once well known and quite
fam i lia r shoul d so soon b e forgotten T he teacher who t aught
the p upi l s while they were in t h e Grammar School was e q ually
surpri sed
T h i rty o f the ind iv i duals i n the test learned to w ri t e the
forty on e facts by having t wo r e p e t i t i on s ; the re m aining th i r
t e en r eq u i red three T he eas e and read i nes s with which t hey
were recalled i s p erhap s a s su rpri sing a s the fac t that so larg e
a part o f the educat ional content wh i ch was con s idered w e l l
taugh t an d well known sho u ld have b een so eas i l y forgott e n
In the results wh i ch follow th e nu m bers in the first col
u m n denote the nu m ber o f pup il s and the other numbers i ndi
cate the errors made i n th e variou s repetitions W i th t he p u
m
b
e r the re i s nothing in the thi rd column
ils
after
whose
nu
p
e
facts
were
learned
in
two
rep
t i tion s
th e
IV
.
I
.
.
.
.
.
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,
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.
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.
-
,
.
.
.
-
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
30
F i f th
Gr
s
w
Q
f
1
8
2
7
3
4
I 2 1
I
5
6
7
8
7
8
6
-
3
3
5
1 6
1
I
1
7
8
9
20
-
-2
4
3
1
-
2
3
1 2
1 2 1
-
3
2 1
6 1 3
2 2 1 4 2 -3
23
1
2
9
26
27
1
8
1
4
29
I
6
2
0
3
1
1
3
1
2
3
33
1
-
3
5
3
2
-
3
1
-2
0
I
I
o
0
0
0
0
o
0
-2
1
0
2 2 -3
4
2
I
0
5
I
o
o
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0
1
1
1 -3
3
0
4
0
1
1
3
7
2
6
0
2
0
1
2 1
0
3
7
7
0
I
5
6
2
o
0
-
-
3
-
3
4
1 -3
3
3 3
2
7
3
62 3
6
8
5
1
0
I
5
0
I
1 2
3
3
I
-
-
1 0 2 -3
I
1
1
1 -3
1 1
8
0
0
o
1
2 -3
0
o
o
2
9
9
—
1
I
2
-
3
8
4
23
I
1
1
3
0
4
1
25
-
1 -3
1
24
1
2
6 5-6
2 1 3
20
6
I
1 2 1
1
o
0
I
1 0 1
1
1 -3
2
2 -3
1
4
2
1 1
3
:
3
”
2 -3
3
1 1
8 2 -3
1 2
62 3
1 3 1 3 1 -2
1
3
7
5
9
8 2 -3
8 1 -3
9
"
5
4
1
i
E xp e r m e n
of
m
5
o
1 0
Fac ts
ade
6
2
1
-
3
t
I
32
F O U RT H E !P E R I M E N T
I n o rde r to de t e rm ine the in terval at wh ich facts once
w ell know n shoul d be rep ea t ed in order t ha t t hey m ay n ot b e
forgo t ten it seemed ex ped ient t o u se t h e facts tha t h a d been
l ea rned i n the p reviou s exp e rimen t s Th e facts u sed in t he
second were a t one t ime know n t o t he ch il d ren an d t he ex
r
i
m en t er ha d pos itive know ledge of t he condi t ion s unde r
e
p
w h ich they w ere learned I t w as there fore arranged t o c al l
for a repeti t ion o f t hese f acts a t va ry ing in t erval s
l h e resu lts o f t h ese repe t i t ion s f ollow
They are headed
re spectively : Re sult s w ith H i gh S cho ol Resul t s w ith A
G ra m m a r S ch ool an d Re su lt s W l t h S even th G rade A an d B
Div i sion s
S i nce t he fact s o f t he second exp erimen t we re ra t he r
di f ficul t t o l ea rn and si nce t he con d ition s unde r w h ich t h ev
would be forgotten wou ld p r o ba bly di ff e r somewha t f rom t h e
m ann er o f forge t ting th ings lea rned u n der o rdin ary s chool
con di t ion s it w a s decided th a t in t h i s a t temp t at determi n ing
the len gt h o f t h e i n t erval i t wou ld be w el l to u se al so t he f ac t s
o f t he th i rd experimen t which w ere regularly learned a s school
lesson s a s w el l as th e fac t s u sed w i t h the fi fth grade in the
fi rs t expe rimen t The fi f th grad e had w i t h seem ing ease
learned t he fac t s p re sented t o t hem i n wh a t seemed t o b e a
rema rkably sho r t t ime an d the re exi s t ed an inte rval o f t wen t y
m onths s ince the la st repe t i t ion
The resul t s o f t he las t men t ioned r ep et i t i on s wi l l al so be
foun d on t he follow ing sheets : The sheet contain ing t he r e
su l t s ob t ained w i t h fac t s o f ex per im en t t h ree a re so designa t ed
an d th e res ult s ob t ained w i t h w ha t w ere fi fth grade p up il s
w hen the fac t s we re given in t he fi rs t exp eriment are heade d
Fi f t h G rade o f 1 90 7 E xpe ri m en t I t hough i t m u st no t be fo r
got t en tha t t hese pupil s are now s eventh grade chil d ren and
that i n t he meanwh ile t hey have not studied the G eography o f
S ou t h Ame rica a s a regular school l es son
The sheet con t ainin g a summariz a t ion o f t h e resul t s h a s
t h e summary o f t h e re su l t s ob t ained w i t h each group sim
i l a r l y de sign a t ed
A glance a t t he S umm ary o f Resul t s w il l show t he fac t
t ha t the accu racy o f th e average o f e rrors i s de p enden t u pon
th e ch il d ren who w ere absen t
I f th e absen t ee s were i nd i
of
vi du a l s w ho usually ha d more t h an the average num b er
er ro rs t he general ave rage w a s p ropor t ionately lowe red an d
i f th e absen t ees we re t hose who u su ally m ade les s t han t he
ave rage number o f er ro r s t h i s general ave rage w as increased
si nce t hei r absence wou l d d im ini sh th e divi sor by one an d have
b u t l i t t l e e ff ec t upon the divi den d S ince how ev er in n o ca se
t he ab sence o f any ch ild a ff ected t he gene ral ave rage more t han
I i t w a s con sidered by t he m e m b e rs o f t he S em ina r t ha t t h i s
cau se o f va ria t ion m igh t be rega rded a s a negligible fac t or
TH E
.
,
.
,
.
.
'
.
,
,
,
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,
,
,
.
,
,
.
x
,
,
,
,
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,
.
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,
,
,
,
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,
,
,
.
33
I t wil l b e obs e rved that w i th th e H igh S choo l A Gra m mar
an d Seventh G rade s the i nterva l and the average o f error s
i s comparative ly uni for m in t he fi r st repetition and that t h e
reduction o f th e avera g e o f error s on the part of the h i gh
schoo l pup i l s furn i she s an except i on i n the second T h e one
day i nterval cau sed reduct i on in th e average o f errors o f mor e
than ten in each c a se A r educt i on o f
in t he average of
e rr o r s i s the l east reduction tha t wa s cau sed by the th i rteen
day interval ; b ut that there was a reduct i on in each case i s
an ind ication that th i s interval i s too short
T he twenty eight day inte rval cau sed a reduction w i th the
h i gh school and Seventh G rade B Div i sion but a con siderable
i nc rease in A G ramm ar T h e A G ra m mar f urni shes anothe r
exc ep tion i n that it indicates a reduct i on in the average of
erro rs when th e inte rval i s nearly twice as long T hi s woul d
in d icate th at the inc rease of t h e average in the former r epe
t it i on w as probably du e to some di stu rbing factor and the
conclu sion could st ill be d rawn that an in t erval of a month
i s not too l ong
I n the Seventh G rade A Divi sion t he in t erval was made
seventy -fou r day s an d the average o f errors i s nearly dou b l ed
I n the Sev enth Grade B D ivi s ion an interval of thi rty nine
day s and o f forty days cau sed a reduc t ion Thi r ty day int er
val wh ich was fi xed betw een the last repetition cau sed con
r e duction in each ca se except w i t h the Sev enth
si d er ab l e
G rade B Divi sion wher e it re m ained the same
It w ill be no ticed tha t the reduct i on in each case i n t he
last repetition is quite con side rable exc ept in t he case o f t h e
I t will
S eventh Grade B Di v i sion where t he re i s no change
al so be seen t hat t he re i s a r eduction i n every case where the
h
i nterval wa s l es s th a n fi fty days e xcept in t e forty nine day
interval w ith t h e h igh sc h oo L
T hough it by no mean s follow s as an undeniable conclu
sion the i n fe rence a t least seem s j u s t i fi abl e that with a repe
tit ion int erv al o f abou t sixty days the average o f erro r w i l l r e
m ain fai rly co ns tan t I n con si derat i on o f the rapid decreases in
t h e la st repe t i t ion s the ex p eri m enter feel s f ree t o bel ieve that
th i s in ter val cou l d be incr e a sed in arithmetical ra t io in which
five day s would represent the co m m on d i ff erence o f the va ry
ing inte rval s
In th e opinion o f the ex p e rimente r the in ferenc e an d t h e
be l i e f a bove s t ated are c o nfi rmed by the re sults sum m arized
und er Fi fth G rade o f 1 90 7 and Fac t s o f E xperimen t Th ree
even t hou g h the t wen t y eight day in terval would se em to be
an excep t ion
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9
F i f t h G r a d e of 1 90 7
F a c t s of F i r s t E x p e r i m e n t
1
20 mos
35
2
2 d ay s
35
2
8
8 d ay s
3 35
9
4
34
30 d ay s
.
R e lt
w it h F a c t s of
E x p e r i m e n t Th r e e
m
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s
4I
397
97
95
2 84
64 d ay s
40
1
8
3
97
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