Free recall of everyday retrospective and prospective memories: The intention-superiority effect is moderated by action versus state orientation and by gender

Abstract The pictorial superiority effect (PSE) is the finding that memory for pictures exceeds that of memory for matching words for people of all ages (Cherry et al., 2012). We examined free recall of line drawings and matching words in adults enrolled in the LSU Flood Study, an interdisciplinary study of disaster stress and cognition. We tested the hypothesis that disaster stress would be associated with deficits in memory for pictures and words. Participants were sampled from a three-parish (county) region of Baton Rouge, LA that was severely devastated by the 2016 flood (N = 202, age range: 18-88 years). They received multiple tests, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; Nasreddine et al., 2005), and self-report measures of executive function and functional impairment (Barkley, 2011). Three groups were compared: (1) non-flooded adults as controls, (2) once-flooded adults with structural damage to homes and property in 2016, and (3) twice-flooded adults who had relocated to Baton Rouge because of catastrophic losses in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and flooded again in 2016. Results yielded a PSE in free recall for all disaster exposure groups (p < 0.001). Follow-up analyses by age group revealed that older adults showed the same memorial advantage of pictures relative to words as did their younger counterparts across all disaster exposure groups. These results imply that single and multiple disaster exposures do not appear to disrupt cognition assessed with traditional, laboratory-based measures. This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award Number 1708090).

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Listening to the Picture-Superiority Effect

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000437 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 66 (2) ◽

pp. 134-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tyler M. Ensor ◽

Tyler D. Bancroft ◽

William E. Hockley

Keyword(s):

Free Recall ◽

Coding Theory ◽

Dual Coding ◽

Superiority Effect ◽

Dual Coding Theory ◽

Picture Superiority Effect ◽

Picture Superiority ◽

New Framework ◽

Better Than

Abstract. The picture-superiority effect (PSE) refers to the finding that, all else being equal, pictures are remembered better than words ( Paivio & Csapo, 1973 ). Dual-coding theory (DCT; Paivio, 1991 ) is often used to explain the PSE. According to DCT, pictures are more likely to be encoded imaginally and verbally than words. In contrast, distinctiveness accounts attribute the PSE to pictures’ greater distinctiveness compared to words. Some distinctiveness accounts emphasize physical distinctiveness ( Mintzer & Snodgrass, 1999 ) while others emphasize conceptual distinctiveness ( Hamilton & Geraci, 2006 ). We attempt to distinguish among these accounts by testing for an auditory analog of picture superiority. Although this phenomenon, termed the auditory PSE, occurs in free recall ( Crutcher & Beer, 2011 ), we were unable to extend it to recognition across four experiments. We propose a new framework for understanding the PSE, wherein dual coding underpins the free-recall PSE, but conceptual distinctiveness underpins the recognition PSE.

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Die Entwicklung des strategischen Gedächtnisses im Laufe der Grundschulzeit

Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie ◽

10.1026/0049-8637.41.1.1 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michael Hünnerkopf ◽

Veronika Kron-Sperl ◽

Wolfgang Schneider

Keyword(s):

Free Recall ◽

Serial Learning

Zusammenfassung. Es werden Ergebnisse der Würzburger Längsschnittstudie dargestellt, in der der Entwicklungsverlauf des strategischen Gedächtnisses vom letzten Kindergartenjahr bis zum Ende der vierten Klasse in halbjährigem Abstand untersucht wurde. Für eine Stichprobe von ca. 100 Kindern konnte das in der Münchner LOGIK-Studie gefundene Muster des sprunghaften Strategieerwerbs für die Sortierstrategie bestätigt werden, während sich bei der Wiederholungsstrategie kein bedeutsamer Unterschied in der Art des Strategieerwerbs zeigte. Der kombinierte Gebrauch von Sortier- und Wiederholungsstrategie brachte Vorteile bei der Abrufleistung der Sort-Recall-Aufgabe, nicht aber der Serial Learning-Free-Recall-Aufgabe. Für zukünftige Forschungsarbeiten wird der Einsatz einer Aufgabe zur Untersuchung der Strategieentwicklung empfohlen.

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Limitations to the Spacing Effect

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.52.4.257 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

pp. 257-263 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Peter P. J. L. Verkoeijen ◽

Remy M. J. P. Rikers ◽

Henk G. Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Free Recall ◽

Phase Retrieval ◽

Incidental Learning ◽

Factor Model ◽

Recall Performance ◽

Spacing Effect ◽

Word List ◽

Intentional Learning ◽

Study Phase ◽

Learning Condition

Abstract. The spacing effect refers to the finding that memory for repeated items improves when the interrepetition interval increases. To explain the spacing effect in free-recall tasks, a two-factor model has been put forward that combines mechanisms of contextual variability and study-phase retrieval (e.g., Raaijmakers, 2003 ; Verkoeijen, Rikers, & Schmidt, 2004 ). An important, yet untested, implication of this model is that free recall of repetitions should follow an inverted u-shaped relationship with interrepetition spacing. To demonstrate the suggested relationship an experiment was conducted. Participants studied a word list, consisting of items repeated at different interrepetition intervals, either under incidental or under intentional learning instructions. Subsequently, participants received a free-recall test. The results revealed an inverted u-shaped relationship between free recall and interrepetition spacing in both the incidental-learning condition and the intentional-learning condition. Moreover, for intentionally learned repetitions, the maximum free-recall performance was located at a longer interrepetition interval than for incidentally learned repetitions. These findings are interpreted in terms of the two-factor model of spacing effects in free-recall tasks.

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Articulatory Rehearsal Is More Than Refreshing Memory Traces

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000179 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 131-139 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ryoji Nishiyama ◽

Jun Ukita

Keyword(s):

Free Recall ◽

Recall Performance ◽

Verbal Working Memory ◽

Verbal Information ◽

Free Recall Task ◽

Study Item ◽

Phonological Representations ◽

Memory Traces ◽

Short Period ◽

Serial Position Curves

This study examined whether additional articulatory rehearsal induced temporary durability of phonological representations, using a 10-s delayed nonword free recall task. Three experiments demonstrated that cumulative rehearsal between the offset of the last study item and the start of the filled delay (Experiments 1 and 3) and a fixed rehearsal of the immediate item during the subsequent interstimulus interval (Experiments 2 and 3) improved free recall performance. These results suggest that an additional rehearsal helps to stabilize phonological representations for a short period. Furthermore, the analyses of serial position curves suggested that the frequency of the articulation affected the durability of the phonological representation. The significance of these findings as clues of the mechanism maintaining verbal information (i.e., verbal working memory) is discussed.

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