Imagery Mediation Research Articles

非漢字圏日本語学習者の漢字学習におけるイメージ媒介方略の有効性

本研究では, 漢字とその英語翻訳語の対連合学習課題におけるイメージ媒介方略の有効性を検討した。被験者は, 漢字の学習経験のない非漢字圏日本語学習者であった。実験1では, 漢字の形態と英語翻訳語のイメージとがどの程度容易に結びつくかの指標である漢字の「形態イメージ性」とテスト時期との関わりから, イメージ媒介方略群と単純リハーサル群の記憶成績を比較した。その結果, イメージ媒介方略が, 形態イメージ性の高低, テスト時期にかかわらず, 単純リハーサルより成績が良いことが示された。また, 形態イメージ性の高い漢字のほうが, 低い漢字より記憶成績が良いことが示された。実験2では, イメージ媒介方略群として, 検索手がかりのイメージを絵画呈示する群 (外示的符号化群) と, イメージ教示によって生成させる群 (内示的符号化群) とを設け, 非イメージ媒介方略群との比較を行った。その結果, 形態イメージ性の高低によって, 各記憶方略群で記憶成績に異なった傾向が見られた。本研究の結果は, 対連合学習におけるイメージの機能の観点から考察された。さらに, 非漢字圏日本語学習者の入門期の漢字学習において, イメージ媒介方略が有効であることが示唆された。

Effects of Interactive Pictures and Ethnicity on Recall of Brand Names

AbstractPrevious research indicates that cued recall of brand names is enhanced by interactive pictures but not by separate pictures or by ethnic content. These questions were examined in two experiments in which the illustrations did not directly represent the brand names, a situation faced by many advertisers. Recall was poorer with separate pictures than with names alone or with interactive pictures, but performance with interactive pictures was not better than with names alone. In addition, recall was poorer with ethnic than with varied content, in all name and picture conditions. Implications are presented for imagery mediation theory and for the use of pictures and ethnic brand names in advertising.RésuméUne recherche antérieure démontre que le rappel provoqué de marques est accru par des images interactives mais non par des illustrations séparées ou par un contenu ethnique. Ces questions ont été examinées dans deux expériences dans lesquelles les illustrations ne représentaient pas directement les marques, une situation à laquelle plusieurs publicistes ont à faire face. Le rappel était plus faible avec les images séparées qu'avec seulement les noms ou les illustrations interactives, mais la performance avec ces dernières n'était pas meilleure qu'avec les noms seuls. En outre, le rappel était plus faible avec un contenu ethnique qu'avec un contenu varié et ce, dans toutes les conditions utilisant l'image ou le nom. Les implications ont été présentées pour soutenir la théorie d'intervention par l'image et pour l'emploi de limage et de marques ethniques dans la publicité.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE VOCABULARY ACQUISITION: IMPLICATIONS FOR CALL

Abstract This review summarises current cognitive psychological knowledge concerning vocabulary acquisition and discusses implications for the development of effective computer assisted vocabulary acquisition methods. It argues that there are several aspects of vocabulary acquisition which involve qualitatively different learning processes: (1) acquisition of cognitive mechanisms for pattern recognition of written or spoken word forms, as well as of mechanisms for the production of spoken or written word forms ‐ this involves implicit learning processes in specialised input and output modules. In contrast, (2) acquisition of word meanings requires explicit (conscious) learning processes with deep processing strategies like semantic elaboration and imagery mediation resulting in better acquisition.

Encoding strategy dynamics: When relationships between words determine strategy use

A number of questions remain largely unanswered about when subjects are likely to employ imagery as opposed to verbal encoding and the subsequent effect this will have on recall. The present experiments examined some of the factors determining such use. Subjects were asked to learn mixed lists of word pairs which were either spatially related (i.e. their referents normally appear in spatial contiguity) or categorically related (their referents are members of a shared superordinate category) using either imagery or verbal mediators throughout. For half the pairs the encoding instructions were appropriate to the relationship between words (e.g. the use of imagery for spatially related pairs) and for the other pairs the instructions were inappropriate (e.g. the use of imagery for categorically related pairs). Subjects were not influenced by experimental instructions under these conditions but overwhelmingly used encodings appropriate to the relationship between words. Furthermore, it was found that subjects were able to adjust encoding strategies from one pair to the next in a flexible manner in accordance with the nature of the relationship between words. What determines strategy use at a given instant appears to result from the interaction of cues provided by the experimental materials with prior world knowledge relating to individual words or combinations of words. Recall for categorically related pairs was better than for spatially related pairs despite the fact that imagery was used more frequently for spatially related pairs and both types of pair were rated equally for concreteness and imageability. Alternative explanations for this finding are discussed.

A multinomial modeling analysis of the mnemonic benefits of bizarre imagery

A series of experiments was conducted to explore the cognitive processes that mediate the bizarreness effect, that is, the finding that bizarre or unusual imagery is recalled better than common imagery. In all experiments, subjects were presented with noun pairs that were embedded within bizarre or common sentences in a mixed-list design. None of the experiments produced a bizarreness effect for cued recall; however, for two of the experiments, the bizarre noun pairs were remembered significantly better than the common pairs for free recall. To determine if these differences were due to the storage or retrieval of the items, a multinomial model for the analysis of imagery mediation in paired-associate learning was developed and applied to the data from the experiments. The model revealed that bizarre sentences benefited the retrieval of the noun pairs but not their storage within memory. The empirical and modeling results are discussed relative to previous findings and theories on the bizarreness effect.

Task Appropriateness of Mnemonic Techniques

The present article reviewed research in which two or more mnemonic techniques in the paradigms of either free recall, paired-associate, or serial learning have been compared. The review showed that the most effective mnemonic differed across the three paradigms: imagery mediation for paired-associate learning, the story mnemonic for free recall learning, and the method of loci for serial learning. Each mnemonic varies in its suitability for different paradigms, and each paradigm is facilitated more by the use of certain mnemonics than by others. These conclusions support the view that memory processing differs across memory tasks. They also indicate that differences in memory performance across tasks are due not only to differences in basic processes (such as recognition and perception) elicited by tasks but also to the task appropriateness of control processes applied to a task.

The relation between visual imagery mediators and recall.

Three hypotheses are discussed as explanations for the result that pairs of concrete nouns are more easily remembered than are pairs of abstract nouns: the imagery hypothesis, the familiarity hypothesis, and the concreteness hypothesis. Two experiments are reported in which the degree of visual imagery associated with the components of paired associate items was not indicative of the degree of visual imagery experienced during their learning or with the accuracy with which they were recalled. It was found that pairs of related abstract nouns were rated higher in imagery and familiarity than were pairs of unrelated concrete nouns, but recall of the higher imagery pairs was poorer. The concreteness hypothesis is discussed as the best explanation for the results. The concreteness hypothesis proposes that people learn to associate the labels of concrete objects by using their real-world knowledge of the potential relations between categories of objects. Dual coding theory and schema theory are also discussed as explanations for mediation learning, and the issue of visual imagery as an epiphenomenon is addressed.

Do cognitive factors in motor performance become nonfunctional with practice?

Cognitive factors in motor behavior were defined as verbal and imagery mediators for a discrete, sequential motor task. The question was asked whether these mediators become nonfunctional with extended practice. Non-motor interference training was given in inappropriate verbal and imagery mediation. If cognitive factors in the motor task involve verbal an/or imagery dimensions, and they dominate early in learning, then the non motor interference training should produce relatively large negative transfer effects in the motor performance early in learning and little or no such effects late in learning. The results did not conform to expectation; small negative transfer effects were found both early and late in learning. The discussion considered several possible reason for the outcome: the motor task was dominated by visual and proprioception factors rather than cognitive ones, the method of delivering knowledge of results may have minimized cognitive factors, or the hypothesis is wrong.

Visual imagery and verbal mediation as memory aids in recovering alcoholics

Visual imagery and verbal mediation as memory aids in recovering alcoholics

Problems in the Acquisition of Imagery Mnemonics: Three Brain-Damaged Cases

The literature provides little direction on how to overcome difficulties which some brain-damaged patients have in acquiring imagery mnemonics as a memory aid during the period of anterograde amnesia. For those interested in the therepeutic usefulness of imagery mediation, we provide a detailed account of the acquisition of some mnemonic skill in three brain-damaged patients who initially failed in using visual imagery mediators to recall words lists.

Imagery mediation of vocal emphasis in flat affect.

The hypothesis that schizophrenics with flat affect have an interference with imagery mediation of language function was derived from clinical impressions that (1) such patients fail to show appropriate voice emphasis, and (2) that word imagery contributes to normal vocal emphasis patterns. Experiment 1 acoustically measured the emphasis patterns in schizophrenics with and without flat affect as they read text controlled for word imagery. Experiment 2 studied the effect of imagery in a paired-associate learning task in the same patients. The results supported the hypothesis, both for emphasis patterns and learning rates. These findings suggest that flat affect may be the product of factors in the schizophrenic process interacting with cognitive processes that are independent of the disease.

Imagery in the aged.

Two studies were conducted to investigate the use of imagery by subjects of different ages. Experiment 1 was designed to test the effectiveness of "peg-word" system as a memory aid for the elderly. Variables believed to be important in the effectiveness of mnemonic devices were manipulated. The results showed that the mnemonic and imagery instructions were of benefit to the young subjects but not to the older subjects. Age was also found to interact with the concreteness variable, item concreteness having a smaller effect on the oldest subjects. These results suggest that the older subjects were not using imagery mediation effectively. Under the conditions of the second experiment, however, item concreteness had a similar effect across age groups. Tye of instruction was also manipulated in Experiment 2 and only the middle age group improved with imagery instructions. The older age group was not benefited by such instruction.

Selective Interference during the Retrieval of Visual Images

Twenty-six subjects memorized lists of (low I and high I) noun pairs under imagery or verbal mediation instructions. At recall the subjects were presented a digit (“1” or “2”) either auditorily or visually as an interfering stimulus. Visual interference was found to selectively affect the retrieval of high I response terms. Also, the retrieval of nouns studied by imagery mediation was found to be selectively disrupted by visual interference. These results suggest that the qualities of a visual image are retained all the way from image acquisition to retrieval, and that the visual components of images generated at the acquisition stage are probably not lost by subsequent coding processes.

Verbal-pictorial recoding in the elderly.

Older individuals have been reported to use imagery mediation less often than the young in remembering verbal material. To determine whether this is due to a decrease with age in the speed with which verbal stimuli are recoded into pictorial representations, the reaction time of 12 old (63-78) and 12 young (17-25) subjects for matching verbal description to geometric shapes was measured. While the elderly were generally slower, they were identical to the young in being faster at determining whether or not two simultaneously presented shapes were the same than they were a printed description of a shape and a shape. Also, in both age groups, when 1 or more sec elapsed between the presentation of the description and that of the shape, matching times were as quick as when both stimuli were shapes, suggesting that, for the old as well as the young, 1 sec was sufficient time to recode the description into a pictorial form.

Imagery and Verbal Elaboration in Learning and Multiple Associates

From current theory on the differential effectiveness of imagery over verbal elaboration one would expect imagery to be especially effective when the task requires recall of more information for each associative unit. A modified paired-associate task, requiring recall of three responses for each stimulus, was administered to college students under both imagery and verbal mediation instructions. Contrary to expectation, no significant differences were obtained between mediation instructions. The results were interpreted with respect to the nature of instructions and the structural features of the task.

Mnemonic technique effectiveness as a function of word abstractness and mediation instructions

Eight groups of subjects learned five 10-item lists of either concrete or abstract nouns following a training session which provided instruction and practice with one of four mnemonic techniques. Six of the mnemonic groups were instructed to use imagery mediators and two groups were instructed to use verbal-type mediators. Two noninstructed groups served as controls. Recall for three of the four mnemonic groups tested on concrete nouns was greater than for the concrete noun control group. No differences were found for groups tested on abstract nouns. Verbal and imaginal mediation instructions produced no recall differences on either concrete or abstract noun lists.

Recognition ratings and imagery mediation with pictures and words

The effect of stimulus recognition ratings on immediately subsequent response recall in the test-trial of paired-associate learning was evaluated with picture and word stimuli in conjunction with two visual distracting tasks. Recall was reduced by the recognition ratings, but this effect appeared independent of stimulus modality and of visual distraction. It was suggested that the recognition task may disrupt use of imagery mediation but that this disruption does not differ for pictures and words.

Imagery in a short-term memory task

Instructions for two short-term memory spatial tasks involving paired-associate (PA) learning were presented under conditions which either suppressed or permitted the use of imagery mediation. Differential performance of the tasks for the two presentation conditions was found to be related to the imagery concreteness of the response members of the PAs when high-imagery stimulus members were used as nonverbal cues in recall. The prediction that imagery would be used spontaneously and effectively when conditions favored its use was confirmed. The results also indicate that the mode of presentation of an instruction sentence (written vs spoken) may be an important variable in subsequent performance of a short-term memory task.

Imagery assessment by self-report and behavioral measures

Summary Potential imagery assessment procedures were examined with the intent of providing the behavior therapist with a prognostic tool to aid in the evaluation of the applicability and/or progress of an imagery intervention. The procedures included: recall performance on a paired-associate learning (PAL) task using imagery mediation, self-report and behavioral results from a Block Test of pattern recall, and self-report data from an imagery questionnaire (QMI). Correlations among the various measures were computed with attention given to the overlap of behavioral and self-report measures. Behavioral measures of imagery behavior were found to have low correlations with each other while demonstrating considerable within-measure correspondence. In contradistinction, significant correlations were established both among the imagery ratings of the several experimental tasks and also on within-measure comparisons. Self-report and behavioral measures were found to be significantly correlated only within the Block Test. It was concluded that the proposed imagery assessment procedures require further evaluation for both convergent and discriminant validity before being integrated into a program of behavioral diagnosis. In addition, the expansion of the procedures to include the training and assessment of both somatic and visual sensory awareness was proposed. Heuristic directions towards these ends were noted.

Distraction modality and stimulus modality in paired-associate learning

The effects of visual and auditory auxiliary distracting tasks were compared with pictorial and verbal stimuli in paired-associate learning following either standard or imagery instructions. Type of distraction was found to interact with stimulus modality but not with instructional set. The usual superiority of pictorial stimuli was somewhat reduced by auditory distraction and was eliminated by visual distraction. Results were considered in terms of several alternate hypotheses regarding encoding, imagery mediation, and interference.