Superordinate—subordinate structure in semantic memory: The roles of comprehension and retrieval processes

Abstract

In the first of two experiments, third-grade, sixth-grade, and college-age subjects were asked either to generate passages to be recalled two weeks later (good comprehension condition), or to listen to recordings of passages generated by other subjects and recall them two weeks later (average comprehension condition). Both the initial passages and the recall protocols were analysed using the propositional representation developed in Kintsch's model of semantic memory. At each age higher-order propositions were recalled better than lower-order propositions, extending the generality of Kintsch's model across a wide range of ages. In addition, the comprehension manipulation failed to interact with recall across rank of proposition indicating that the differential recall phenomenon is not a product of subject-initiated comprehension strategies. In Experiment 2, the recall contingencies between superordinate and subordinate propositions were analysed. The results indicated that a proposition is more likely to be recalled when a proposition to which it is subordinate is also recalled. These results support an interpretation of differential recall across superordinate—subordinate structure which emphasizes the interaction of the structure of the representation of meaning in memory (as defined by Kintsch's model) and retrieval processes.