Page:Memory (1913).djvu/90

, the lengths being 12, 24 and 36 syllables. A single test consisted of nine series of the first length, or three of the second, or two of the third. In addition to this I carried out several tests with six stanzas of Byron’s “Don Juan.”

The plan of the experiment was, then, as follows: The required number of series was first learned and then, at the same hour on successive days, it was relearned to the point of first possible reproduction. In the case of the series of syllables, the number of days was six; in the case of Byron’s stanzas, it was only four. Thus, on the fifth day, the stanzas were correctly repeated without any preliminary reproduction and the problem, accordingly, no longer existed. For each kind of series, seven trials were employed. The total number of separate tests was, in consequence, 154, a number of which required only a few minutes for their execution.

The entries of the following tables indicate the repetitions which were necessary in order to bring the series concerned to the first possible reproduction (including this); the Roman figures designate the successive days.