ACQUISITION AND FORGETTING IN FREE-RECALL LEARNING

M ikkonen V. Acquisition and forgetting in free-recall learning. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1972, 13 , 109–120.—Formulae are defined for absolute and proportional acquisition and forgetting in the course of free recall experiments, and also for total net gain and gains per trial. By applying these formulae to a set of experimental results, scores are generated which demonstrate: (1) that the diminishing gains of the typical learning curve are mainly governed by variation in forgetting, and (2) that inter-subject and inter-item differences in recall are caused jointly by acquisition and forgetting. Subjects who learn well forget little and vice versa. Similarly, items most likely to be acquired are best retained, and vice versa. As no single score can describe all the phenomena of a typical experiment, the use of several scores in combination is indicated.