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Imagery

Recall of High and Low Imagery Words
in a Serial Recall Task

Abstract
Imagery is known as a crucial factor in memory recall. It is used for representation of previously learned material as well as an approach for learning new material. The problem faced is that of determining whether learning is greater with the use of imagery. Each of 10 college students was given lists of 15 words in counterbalanced order. One condition involved the use of imagery in recall, while the other involved rote rehearsal. Mean per cent recall was significantly higher for the high imagery condition. This suggests that the use of imagery provides greater recall on learning tasks. Even tough imagery proved to be significant in learning; the results were correlational, meaning no cause could be assigned, because of confounding within the experiment. There are number of other factors that play a role in learning, like concreteness and familiarity.

Recall of High and Low Imagery Words
in a Serial Recall Task
Visual imagery is a crucial factor in the way information is recalled from our memory (Paivio, 1965). The effect that imagery has in relation to the serial recall of concrete and abstract words is still questioned, as well as the effect between high and low imagery words. Word lists were developed by Paivio (1965) based on a rating system that allowed variables to be controlled, such as abstractness or imagery. The purpose here was to determine whether high imagery words were recalled more readily than low imagery words.
Previous research has shown that the use of visual images plays an important role in the process of learning. Imagery is used to reproduce previously learned material and provides a useful way to learn new material. The idea that visual representation of information is a cause of learning is known as the imagery hypothesis (Day & Bellezza, 1983). Two important ideas are frequently used in the examination and attempted explanation of mediated...