For example, presenting the word “CAT” and producing the word associated with it “VOQ”. This technique associates an unfamiliar word or nonsense syllable with a familiar word. Paired associate learning was developed by George Elias Muller, a German researcher.
Instead, you recalled “VEU” and then others the serial learning is not accurate. If you recall this list systematically as presented in the list, we have the example of serial learning. For example, you have a list of CVC containing NOQ, ZAX, VEU, etc. Serial learning is an ordered or sequence-wise recall.
Ebbinghaus made himself a subject who tried to measure memory through serial learning, paired associate learning, and free recall. Because nonsense syllables have no meaning, Ebbinghaus believed that he would be able to study how associations between these stimuli are formed without any previous learning as school children learn the alphabet, and multiplication tables and adults learn telephone numbers, addresses, etc. For example, GOK, TAF, VOX, and YIW are nonsense syllables. He was very much interested in finding out the associations of words, sounds, and visual stimuli of learning and memory.Įbbinghaus invented nonsense syllables which are composed of three letters arranged in a constant-vowel-constant (CVC) sequence. The pioneer in this area was Hermann Ebbinghaus, who conducted a study on memory in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The scientific study of memory is very old. It is the ability of our brain to store the experience of learning and utilize them at a later stage. Putting these ideas together, we can define memory as a system or process by which the product or results of learning are stored for future use. Gerard (1953) opined memory involves the making of an impression by an experience, the retention of some record of this impression, and the reentry of this record into consciousness as recall and recognition. Learning is the process of building up, memories for future use, while memory concerns the storage and retrieval of this information.Īccording to Melton (1963), learning has been referred to as trace formation, memory as trace storage, and transfer of training as utilization.