Testing Picture Superiority Effects on Short-Term and Long-Term Retentions of Hiragana: Why Are They Absent?

Abstract

This study tested the validity of the dual coding hypothesis (Paivio, 1971, 1986, 1991; Thompson & Paivio, 1994), which attempts to explain the phenomenon of picture superiority effect in human memory (i.e., pictures are better remembered than words). The study specifically investigated the short-term and long-term effect of picture and sound mnemonics, together or separately, on remembering hiragana (Japanese syllabic scripts) by learners of Japanese as a foreign language at an American university. Results of the study did not show picture superiority effects in aiding learners' short-term or long-term recalls of the symbols. This paper provides explanations for these results and suggests modifications of the dual coding theory.