Implicit serial learning: questions inspired by Hebb (1961)

Implicit serial learning occurs when indirect measures such as transfer reveal learning of a repeating sequence even when subjects are not informed of the repeating sequence, are not asked to learn it, and do not become of aware of it. This phenomenon is reminiscent of an experiment by Hebb (1961), who studied the repetition of sequences in a serial recall task. Two experiments investigated the relation between implicit serial learning and ideas about learning forwarded by Hebb and others who used his method. The experiments showed that implicit serial learning occurs even when the repeating sequence is intermixed with randomly generated sequences instead of being repeated continuously, that the organization of the sequence into regularly or irregularly grouped subsequences determines the extent of learning, and that the repetition effect observed does not depend on subjects' ability to recognize the repetition.