Abstract
I
In the process of learning by memory or associative learnng, formation of the system of ‘Vorstellung’ by learning the material as it is, is not the usual attitude of natural learning. An attitude more frequently adopted is that of grasping the general meaning of the material. What difference of progress would be developed by this natural attitude of learning and by that of mechanical? To observe this is the purpose of the present study.
For this purpose, having provided as meterial a short narrative story, in which the importance of the passages is equally dispersed, and which takes 1'30'' to read, I read it to three groups of subjects divided homogeneously according to theirintelligenCe. The first group Was inStructed to learn it mechanically, the second, to grasp the general meaning, and the third, to reproduce the contents of the mmterial in answer to four questions prepared.
II
When the degree of achievement as the results of three different learning attitude was inspected mccording to the first preselltation of the material, it was found that the reproduction was most difficult when the mechanical attatude was required, where the first part was the easaest of complete reproduction, and the reproduction was often a mere procession of fragmentary or nonsentical ‘Vorstellung.’ Whereas, with regard to the attitude of grasping the general meaning, the parts reproduced suggest a tendency to centralize their memory around the impressions which they felt most intensely. Especially, they show an attitude of grasping the material by summing up the whole meaning into one. Thirdly, the reproduction is easiest when the process is urged by questions. In this case, they reproduced first, what they were required to learn on the basis of impressions, then the parts presented at first and last. Here, however, they are apt to make nonsentical or mistaken grasp of the meaning, as the reproduction is forced on them by questions.
When the results of progress, as the learning was repeated, is inspected, we see that the gain is most remarkable when the reproduction is caused by questions. With regard to the attitude of mechanical learning, it effectuats slow, but steady approaches to the objective. On the other hand, the attitude of learning by grasping the general meaning causes, generally speaking, the subjects to recede from the objective, although progress can be seen in the first and second trials.
When the problem is studied from the standpoint of the difference of intelligence, with regard to the mechanical learning, those with the higher intelligence by far surpass the normal or inferior children, with whom the progress is very slow and their reproductions are much the same. Whereas in cases which require the grasping of the general meaning, or making of reproduction as answers to questions, the progress of inferior children are much retarded, normal and superior ones making similar progress of appreciable value, in the former case of the two, however, after second or third trials, they fail to make further progress, as has been already mentioned.
