A Theory of the Serial Position Effect

Edward A. Feigenbaum, Herbert Alexander Simon

Expert InsightsPublished 1961

A presentation of an information processing theory of rote serial learning sufficient to predict (qualitatively and quantitatively) the shape of the serial error curve. In addition, other rote-learning phenomena are explained. The theory postulates a serial information processing mechanism that learns (on the average) one item from a serial list every k seconds, has a very small immediate memory span, and uses an anchor-point processing strategy for organizing its learning effort over time. Two ways described to make predictions from the postulates are by a computer programmed to process information and by a simple mathematical model.

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Feigenbaum, Edward A. and Herbert Alexander Simon, A Theory of the Serial Position Effect. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1961. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P2375.html.
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