The present study was intended to evaluate the organization theory of negative part-to-whole transfer effect by analysing the organizational processes in the part-and whole-list learning. The results replicated the usual crossover effect, but a close analysis of the data revealed that the high organizers in the first-list learning recalled more than low organizers in the second-list learning, and that the maintenance of the first-list organization did not hinder the second-list learning. These findings were interpreted as contradicting the current organizational interpretation of the negative part-to-whole transfer effect.