Abstract
KOSSLYN, STEPHEN M., and BOWER, GORDON H. The Role of Imagery in Sentence Memory: A Developmental Study. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 30-38. This experiment tested whether children rely relatively more than adults on sensory imagery as the internal representation of sentences in memory. If so, then children should show more confusions in recognition memory between sentences which evoke very similar imagery. Adults, on the other hand, should be able to encode, remember, and distinguish sentences differing conceptually even though these sentences evoke very similar imagery. The experiment used sentence pairs rated as evoking highly similar imagery. Ss studied 1 list of sentences and then judged a test list of sentences regarding whether each was a verbatim replica of 1 studied earlier. Compared with a studied counterpart, each test sentence was either verbatim the same, imaginally similar and conceptually similar, imaginally similar but conceptually different, or imaginally and conceptually different. Recognition confusion errors supported the hypothesis that children did not discriminate between same versus imaginally similar sentences whereas adults did. Although children comprehended conceptual distinctions nearly as well as adults, they forgot such distinctions more readily, so that imaginal similarity guided their recognitions.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
