North South University

Department of History and Philosophy

Lab Report
“The Role of Organization on Verbal Learning”

Submitted to

Dr. H M Saidur Rahaman

Department of History & Philosophy

Submitted by

Tawsif Al Nahian Bin Islam

Student ID: 2221271030
Section: 40

Date of submission: 06/05/2023

Title:
Role of Organization on Verbal Learning

Purpose:
The purpose of this psychological experiment is to determine whether there is any effect of
organization on verbal learning.

Introduction
Effective organization of information is a crucial aspect of recall performance in verbal
learning. Two general types of organization are commonly distinguished based on the level of
processing involved (Verbal Learning, 2021). Primary organization is determined by the way
words are presented, resulting in primacy and recency effects and short-term memory
constraints. Secondary organization, in contrast, is shaped by an individual's prior experience
with the presented words. This type of organization involves creating semantic associations
between list items, such as grouping words by category. The use of semantic organization
requires deeper processing levels and is viewed as a more effective learning strategy than
serial recall (Evans, 1972). In contrast, primary organization is seen as a short-term process
that does not facilitate learning. Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, and Ober (1994) propose that
secondary organization is a more advanced skill that can lead to learning.

Learning can be categorized in two ways: 1) Motor Learning 2) Verbal Learning.

Motor Learning
Motor learning, also known as skill learning, is performing an act in which people need to
have command over a particular function of human organs. In other words, the type of
learning involving muscles is involved (2018).

Verbal Learning
Verbal learning involves memorization and retention of lists of words, in order to describe
elements of associative learning. It tends to involve more than just the memorization of
words. Many stimuli such as pictures, odors, locations, etc. can be studied. Both the learning
types are critical to the development of humans. From learning how to drive a car to how to
make coffee, all are examples of motor learning which we learn to do over the span of human
life. However, verbal learning is much more than that. We try to learn different words and
languages which are tools that people need in their daily lives. During childhood, we learn to

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call a particular object by a specific name like a book, table, or bed and so on. Ultimately, we
learn to speak and acquire a language. Consequently, we try to express our thoughts and
experience by using this acquired language (ScienceDirect, 1984).

Factors Affecting Verbal Learning

Verbal learning is influenced by a number of factors, including intelligence, age, motivation,
experience, teaching methods, outcome, rehearsal, reading by understanding the content,
clarity of the content, emotion, and organization. Intelligence and language learning are
closely related, with the learning process being faster for more intelligent students (Alexandra
Economou, 2011).

According to Verbal Learning - an Overview by ScienceDirect Topics, several factors can

affect verbal learning, including:

1. Intelligence: Intelligence and language learning are closely related. People with
higher intelligence tend to learn more quickly than those with lower intelligence.

2. Age: The capacity to learn a new language increases until the age of 20 and then
gradually declines after the age of 50.

3. Motivation: Highly motivated learners tend to learn more efficiently and quickly than
those who lack motivation.

4. Experience and Tradition: Students who have past experience and knowledge and
have been exposed to continuous learning are more likely to learn quickly.

5. Method of Teaching: Different teaching methods can affect the speed of learning.
Some subjects can be learned quickly with practice and rest.

6. Outcome: Learners need to understand the outcomes of their learning to make the
process effective.

7. Rehearsal: Memorizing and learning a subject is more beneficial than memorizing and
reciting at the same time because it helps in the retention process.

8. Reading by Understanding the Content: Understanding the content of the topic is

necessary for learning to occur.

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 9. Clarity of the Content: The content must be clear and understandable for learning to
occur.

10. Emotion: Negative emotions such as fear and anxiety can hamper the learning
process.

11. Organization: Topics and content that are organized in a logical and structured way
can aid in learning and memory retention.

It is essential to consider these factors when designing a teaching plan for verbal learning to
ensure that the process is effective, efficient, and sustainable.

Methods of Verbal Learning

Several types of recall tests were developed during the heyday of verbal learning theory, from
about 1915 to 1965 (Dewey, 2017). The techniques are still used today, although not usually
with nonsense syllables. The methods are as follows:

1) Rote learning – It is the memorization of information based on repetition. Examples

of rote learning can be alphabets and numbers. More complex examples might include
multiplication tables and spelling words.

2) Serial learning - Serial learning occurs when you learn something in a fixed sequence
or rigid serial order. A child learning the alphabet must remember the letters in exact
order. A person learning a route through a complex environment must remember a
series of turns in order. Many procedures such as baking a cake or tying a shoelace
involve actions performed in a certain order or sequence.

3) Complete presentation - The evidence that has been collected on the different verbal
learning tasks suggests that verbal learning is not a single process--many different
strategies result in verbal learning. Research shows that if one wants to obtain a valid
representation of one’s memory skills, different tests must be used to tap different
memory abilities (Tietz, 2022).

4) Serial anticipation - Serial anticipation learning is an experimental paradigm in

learning and memory research in which a timed sequence of stimuli (such as a list of
words) is presented to a subject to be learned (Khasinah, 2014). After a further
interval the sequence is represented and the subject is asked to predict the next stimuli
at each stage of the sequence so that each stimulus is a cue for the following response.
For example – TAR, VAX, LUG, SIB, DOK.

5) Paired Associates Learning - Paired Associate (PA) learning involves having 2 items
(a Stimulus and Response item) paired as stimuli (e.g., BOAT-CHAIR). When the
items pairs are committed to memory, the presentation of the first word (the stimulus
word) should evoke the second word (the response word). So presenting BOAT
should elicit a response of CHAIR.

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Historical Background
Herman Ebbinghaus conducted research on verbal learning in the early days of this field. To
carry out his studies, Ebbinghaus used himself as a subject and developed a method of
memorizing nonsense syllables in a specific order. He repeated the process until he could
accurately recall the syllables, varying the criteria for accuracy in different experiments.
Frederic Barlett later challenged Ebbinghaus's idea that nonsense syllables were more
effective than using real words for testing verbal learning, arguing that using words allowed
for the formation of meaningful connections between them (Gray, 2021).

Significance
Organized verbal learning makes learning much easier and faster than compared to learning
the content randomly. This also results in long-term retention as it stays in the memory for a
long period of time. Learning such as memorizing lists or sentences, can be assisted with
proper organization. For example – Doctors can easily distinguish the type of drug when
writing prescriptions while seeing patients and recall drugs from different companies by the
group.

Hypothesis
Verbal learning is better in an organized way than in a disorganized way.

Variables
Independent variable: Presentation of the word list (organized and disorganized)
Dependent variable: Recall of verbal learning

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 Method and Procedure
Design of the Experiment: Matched-group Design

Organized Disorganized
Serial No. Stimulus words Learning effort Stimulus words Learning effort
Each word 2 seconds Try until finished Each word 2 seconds Try until finished
1 to 20
and total 20 words recalling and total 20 words list recalling
list to be presented completely to be presented completely

Method
The experiment will be conducted with two vessels of same status. Firstly, a list of 20 words
will be presented to one of the vessels in an organized way. To retain each of those 20 words,
the person will be given 2 seconds for a total of 40 seconds. These attempts will be continued
until the entire list is learned and recalled. On the other hand, in the disorganized phase, the
same words list will be presented but randomly instead of in an organized way and the trials
will continue until the entire list is learned. Finally, compare the two methods in determining
which vessel takes less or more efforts to learn.

Apparatus
 Word list
 Timer
 Pen and paper

Subject
1. Name: Abid
Age: 23
Sex: Male
Qualification: Undergraduate student (CSE)

2. Name: Sourav
Age: 23
Sex: Male
Qualification: Undergraduate student (BBA)

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Session
Date: 11th March 2023
Time: 4:10 PM
Duration: 1 hour
Location: North South University

Instructions (Organized)
Dear Abid, “Thank you for coming to participate in this psychological experiment here
today. In a moment, you will be given a word list that contains 20 words. You will get
exactly 2 seconds to memorize each word, so you will get a total of 40 seconds for the entire
word list. You will be asked to recall all 20 words after I take away the list. I will repeat this
until you recall all the 20 words, and the number of attempts will be counted.”
Thank you so much, Abid for your sincere participation.

Instructions (Disorganized)
Dear Sourav, “Thank you for coming to participate in this psychological experiment here
today. In a moment, you will be given a word list which contains 20 words. You will get
exactly 2 seconds to memorize each words, so you will get a total of 40 seconds for the entire
word list. You will be asked to recall all the 20 words after I take away the list. I will repeat
this until you recall all the 20 words, and the number of attempts will be counted.”
Thank you so much, Sourav for your sincere participation.

Result

Phase Trail

Organized 2

Disorganized 8

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 Discussion and Conclusion
The objective of the experiment titled ‘Role of Organization on Verbal Learning’ was to
examine whether organization of words has any effect on verbal learning. There were two
stages of the experiment, organized and disorganized experiment. The independent variable
was the presentation of structured and unstructured word lists to the test takers. The
dependent variable was the scope of learning in each category. It can be assessed from the
test results that the examinee of the organized stage took a total of 2 attempts, 18 words
correct in the first attempt and then 20 words in the second attempt. On the other hand, the
examinee of the disorganized stage took a total of 8 attempts, 8 words correct in the first
attempt and then 8 words in the second attempt after that 10 words then 14 words and 5th
attempt was 15 words then 16 words after that 7th was 18 then the last 20 words in the eight
attempt. As a result, it can be deduced that the organized phase test pot performed better than
the disorganized phase test pot as it took lesser trials. That is, more effort is required in the
disorganized stage than in the organized stage of the experiment. Therefore, we can conclude
that the hypothesis claim is true.

Summary
This psychological experiment sought to determine whether a group's structure affected
linguistic learning. It is thought that the organized phase of verbal learning is simpler than the
disorganized phase. The presentation of organized and disorganized word lists was the
independent variable, while the degree of learning attained in each category was the
dependent variable. According to the findings, participants needed 2 times as much work in
the organized phase of verbal learning to remember the whole word list as opposed to 8 times
in the disorganized phase, showing that the organized phase took less effort than the
disorganized phase. The results thus confirmed the notion that verbal learning is significantly
influenced by organization.

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