Mnemotechnics: Some limitations of the mnemonic keyword method for the study of foreign language vocabulary.

Examined the effectiveness of the mnemonic keyword method in 4 experiments with 248 college students learning lists of 24–32 pairs of Spanish nouns and their English equivalents. The 1st 3 experiments, in which the lists were presented for periods of free study, yielded the following results: (a) The keyword condition, with keywords supplied by the experimenter, was similar or somewhat inferior to the control conditions in both Spanish–English (forward) and English–Spanish (backward) directions; (b) the keyword condition was clearly inferior to controls when Ss were required to generate keywords; (c) keyword and control conditions were similar in retention over 1 wk. In Exp IV the keyword method was superior to the control condition with successive, experimenter-paced presentation but inferior with free-study presentation; free study was markedly superior to paced presentation for both keyword and control conditions. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Category-order effects in memory span.

When Ss are required to recall lists containing both words and digits, memory span is higher when the digits precede the words than when the words precede the digits. In Exp 1, both forward and backward recall were tested; it was demonstrated that this category-order effect reflects the input position, and not the output position, of the items. Exp 2 revealed that this effect was not eliminated by a filled retention interval. Exp 3 showed that the effect was eliminated when lists were presented at a fast presentation rate. In Exp 4, the effect was eliminated when Ss engaged in articulatory suppression. A 5th experiment extended the findings of Exp 4 to the case in which lists are composed of semantically related or unrelated words. These results suggest that category-order effects reflect mnemonic activity that Ss engage in during list presentation and do not arise from structural characteristics of the memory system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does method of item presentation affect keyword method effectiveness?

J. W. Hall et al (see record 1981-25028-001) concluded that with sophisticated students, the usefulness of the keyword method of vocabulary learning is limited to occasions when presentation of the items is paced by an experimenter (E). The present 2 experiments each varied whether 80 college students learned a vocabulary list using the keyword method or through their own strategies and whether items were E- or S-paced during presentation. In both experiments, keyword Ss outperformed controls; and there was no Treatment?×?Pacing interaction. It is concluded that the benefits of the keyword method are not limited to paced study situations. Factors that may have contributed to the Treatment?×?Pacing interaction obtained by Hall et al are suggested. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterned (single) alternation in infant rats after combined or separate lesions of hippocampus and amygdala.

The role of the developing hippocampus and the amygdala on patterned (single) alternation (PA) in the infant rat was investigated in 4 experiments. In Exps 1 and 2, Ss were given 2 bilateral electrolytic hippocampal lesions or sham surgeries at 10 or 11 days of age and were trained 6 days later in a straight runway. In Exp 1, there were 120 trials in 1 day, with an 8-, a 15-, or a 30-s intertrial interval (ITI). PA learning occurred in lesion and sham Ss at the 8- and 15-s ITIs. In Exp 2, training was extended to 240 trials over 2 days, with a 30- or 60-s ITI. Sham and lesion Ss showed PA at the 30-s ITI, but the emergence of PA was delayed in the lesion pups at the 60-s ITI. In Exp 3, amygdaloid lesions had no effect on PA learning at the 8-s ITI. However, when Ss with hippocampal and amygdaloid lesions were trained at the 8-s ITI, the emergence of PA was delayed, and its size was reduced (Exp 4). Results argue for a role of the hippocampus in PA learning at long ITIs and suggest that, even in 16-day-old Ss exposed to an 8-s ITI, the combined hippocampal and amygdaloid lesion produces a deficit greater than either the hippocampal or the amygdaloid lesion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-dependent improvement in passive avoidance learning of the young chick: Cholinergic mediation?

Studied cholinergic mediation of the age-dependent improvement in response suppression of the young chick by determining the performance of 144 Vantress?×?Arbor Acre 4-day-old chicks, pretreated with scopolamine (SCO), during passive avoidance (PA) and extinction testing. In Exp I, Ss were trained to keypeck for heat reward (prepunishment training), and then tested for PA learning under immediate, 2-sec-delayed, or no shock condition. Half of the Ss in each condition received saline injections before prepunishment training and .5 mg/kg SCO injections after training. The rest received .5 mg/kg SCO injections both before and after training. For Ss in both SCO groups, delaying shock onset resulted in significantly less response suppression than immediate response-contingent shock. In Exp II, 4-day-old Ss injected with saline or SCO were trained to keypeck for heat reward and then tested for resistance to extinction under response-contingent shock or nonshock conditions. Punishment decreased the number of extinction responses for both saline and SCO groups. Results indicte that the age-dependent improvement in response suppression of the young chick cannot be explained solely by a significant increase in central cholinergic functioning. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Putting the keyword method in context.

Compared the keyword method of learning new vocabulary with a context method in which the meaning of the new vocabulary items had to be inferred from a meaningful context. In Exp I, with 69 undergraduates, the keyword method produced greater definition recall than the context method, even when such recall was conditionalized on context Ss' correct discovery of the word's meaning. Combining the keyword method with the context method significantly improved recall over that of context alone but produced recall below that displayed by the keyword method alone. For Ss high in verbal ability, as assessed by the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the keyword method did not promote significantly better recall than a no-strategy control condition. In Exp II, with 42 Ss, the keyword and context methods were evaluated in terms of how adequately the vocabulary could be used in sentences. Both methods led to highly adequate use of vocabulary in sentences, given that the word's meaning could be recalled. As in Exp I, the keyword method produced significantly greater definition recall than the context method. Implications for vocabulary learning theories and discovery learning approaches are discussed. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Presentation rates in experiments on mnemonics: A methodological note.

Argues that for simple vocabulary items, the amount that Ss can learn during a given period of study is markedly underestimated when unusually slow (8-sec or slower) presentation rates are imposed. That disadvantage apparently is less when Ss use the keyword mnemonic. Most researchers who have shown the keyword method to be superior to a nonmnemonic control condition may have overestimated the extent of keyword superiority under typical conditions, in which Ss have not been constrained by slow presentation rates. The use of self-pacing or of multiple-rate conditions in such experiments is suggested. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of keyword on long-term retention: Help or hindrance?

Three experiments assessed the long-term effectiveness of the keyword mnemonic relative to a nonmnemonic (i.e., semantic-context) learning strategy. Following incidental-learning instructions, cued recall was assessed either immediately or after a 2-day delay. The keyword mnemonic produced superior immediate performance relative to the semantic-context strategy. However, after 2 days, there was a marked reversal in performance, with higher levels of delayed recall associated with semantic-context learning. This pattern of findings was obtained when obscure English words (Exp 1) and 2nd-language vocabulary (Exp 2) were the learning stimuli. When practice frequencies were manipulated (Exp 3), increased opportunities for study were more likely to boost the long-term retention of keyword learners compared with semantic-context learners. The implication is that keyword-based memories are especially fragile over time and will benefit from repeated testing and rehearsal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of conditioned associations in Hermissenda: Additive effects of contiguity and the forward interstimulus interval.

Examined conditioned suppression of photokinesis (CSPK) by the marine mollusc in 3 experiments. In each experiment, groups of Ss received light (conditioned stimulus, CS) paired with high-speed orbital rotation (unconditioned stimulus, UCS), light and rotation explicitly unpaired, or no exposure to these stimuli. 24 hrs after training, all Ss were tested for CSPK in the presence of the light. 50 CS–UCS pairings resulted in a marginal CSPK, whereas 100 and 150 pairings produced strong CSPK. In Exp 2, delay between CS onset and UCS onset was varied between 1 and 10 s. The 10-s interstimulus interval (ISI) did not support conditioning, whereas 1-s and 2-s ISIs were effective. In Exp 3, CS–UCS pairings in which the CS preceded the onset of the UCS and ended with the offset of the UCS evoked stronger CSPK than either a CS that preceded the UCS and ended with its onset or a CS that was paired in simultaneous compound with the UCS. CS–UCS contiguity and the forward ISI act additively to establish the CS–UCS association. No differences were observed between groups that were untreated and that received the CS and UCS unpaired. Similarities are noted in the temporal characteristics of associative learning in these Ss and vertebrate species. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review, recitation, and memory monitoring.

Investigated memory monitoring during the learning of word lists in 110 undergraduates in 2 experiments. Both experiments used a procedure in which the list was presented twice prior to each recall with Ss predicting recall during either the 1st or 2nd presentation. Ss who predicted during the 2nd presentation had the opportunity to review the entire list prior to making their predictions. Results of both experiments suggest that successful monitoring to decide the items that are already encoded (e.g., assessment through covert recall) did not occur during presentation of material but was restricted to recall trials. Reviewing the list had no effect on prediction accuracy when the material was homogeneous (Exp I) but was effective with heterogeneous materials (Exp II). The data from Exp II also show modest learning-to-predict and learning-to-learn effects (i.e., improvement over lists) for Ss predicting recall on the 2nd presentation. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Search and retrieval patterns for performance information: Effects on evaluations of multiple targets.

Examined search, organization, and use of performance information about multiple targets. In Exp I, 41 undergraduates searched among 64 performance vignettes, stored in a 4?×?4?×?4 (Target?×?Task?×?Occasion) computer array. The predominant search pattern involved examining a set of performances by one target before proceeding to another. Exp II tested whether various acquisition patterns affect organization and use of performance information. 125 Ss were shown 16 vignettes from Exp I, organized in target-by-target (target blocked), task-by-task (task blocked), or mixed sequences. Results indicate greater recall under blocked than under mixed conditions. Blocking also influenced organization in recall. Target blocking produced clustering by target; task blocking produced clustering by task; mixed presentation produced no discernible clustering. Accuracy of ratings for overall target performance was unaffected by blocking, but task blocking produced better differentiation among instances of good and poor performance exhibited by specific targets. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do the same stimulus-response relations influence choice reactions initially and after practice?

A 2-choice reaction task was used to evaluate changes in stimulus–response translation with practice. In Exp 1, 4 groups of Ss practiced with either a direct or indirect mapping of left–right stimuli to left–right responses and either a crossed or uncrossed hand placement and transferred to 1 of the 4 Mapping?×?Placement conditions. Stimulus–response location and response location effector relations affected performance initially and after practice. In Exps 2 and 3, Ss switched every 42 trials between conditions for which only the stimulus location–effector (Exp 2) or stimulus–response location relation (Exp 3) remained constant. Switching produced interference in Exp 2 but not in Exp 3, corroborating the influence of the stimulus–response location relation on performance. Mediation based on spatial codes continues to be a factor in the performance of practiced Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A mnemonic based on arranging words on visual patterns.

Conducted 3 experiments with 264 undergraduates to demonstrate that arranging word lists on distinctive visual patterns results in better recall performance than does presenting the same word lists on a pattern that is always the same. In Exp I, lists of concrete nouns placed on different visual patterns were recalled better than those lists placed on the same pattern. This was true immediately after learning and 1 wk later. In Exp II, abstract terms taken from an introductory textbook in psychology were arranged on the same or on different drawings. When placed on the different drawings, the words were better learned, and what was learned was better retained in memory for 1 wk. In Exp III, both visual-pattern mnemonic aids and story mnemonic aids were provided to Ss for different lists. The story mnemonic was found to be superior. Possible reasons why the spatial-arrangement mnemonic and story mnemonic are effective are discussed. One important factor seems to be the discriminability among the representations of the word lists in memory. By placing words on distinctive visual patterns, this discriminability can be increased and recall performance can be enhanced. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult age differences in memory for massed and distributed repeated actions.

Adult age differences in memory for actions were investigated in 2 experiments in which actions were repeated with massed or distributed spacing. In Exp 1, Ss received a mixed series of actions, half performed once, the others twice, with repetitions either massed or distributed. Young Ss recalled more actions than did the elderly, and more distributed actions were recalled than massed actions. However, the Age?×?Spacing interaction was not significant. A probable inhibitory mechanism with a mixed list was avoided in Exp 2 by use of unmixed series. Actions were performed once only, twice only in massed repetitions, or twice only in distributed repetitions. The age difference was significant, and more actions were recalled in the distributed condition than in either of the other conditions, the results of which did not differ from one another. The Age?×?Conditions interaction was negligible. These results imply that elderly Ss are as likely as young Ss to encode contextual information while performing actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extended mnemonic instruction with learning disabled students.

Divided 64 learning disabled (LD) 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students into 24 instructional groups that were assigned at random to mnemonic and control conditions. Instructional groups were administered 3 daily lessons on dinosaurs in counterbalanced order. The lessons involved vocabulary on dinosaurs, attributes of dinosaurs, and reasons for dinosaur extinction. Mnemonic groups were taught the information using keyword and pegword techniques. Control instructional groups were taught the same information using the principles of direct instruction, including teacher-directed questioning, choral group responding, fast instructional pacing, and cumulative review. A test was given after each lesson on that lesson's content. On the 4th day, all Ss were given production and identification tests on the content of all 3 lessons. Results indicate that mnemonic groups outperformed control groups on the immediate and delayed tests. In addition, control Ss' responses revealed significantly more intralist intrusions than did those of mnemonic Ss. No meaningful trend across days of instruction was observed for either condition. Findings suggest that mnemonic instruction is a versatile and effective instructional technique for LD students. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of mnemonic instructions on paired-associate recognition memory for faces or names.

96 undergraduates (4 experimental and 2 control groups) learned 2 lists of 10 pairs of number-faces or number-names. Experimental Ss learned the 2nd list under a mnemonic rhyme condition. 1/2 of the experimental Ss used imagery as a mediator while the remainder were given verbal mediation sets. Ss took longer to learn faces than names and longer to learn under mnemonic than control conditions. On recognition tests, faces evoked slower latency responses than names, whereas mnemonic sets, in particular imagery as opposed to verbal, reduced response time. Names were recognized better than faces, mnemonics improved recognition scores, and recognition of faces but not of names was facilitated by the mnemonics. Control-group data show that results are not attributable to practice effects. Questionnaire reports of learning strategies are also examined. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's use of the keyword method to learn simple Spanish vocabulary words.

Assessed children's ability to use a mnemonic procedure to learn foreign language vocabulary, the keyword method, using 107 2nd and 5th graders as Ss. To remember a foreign word translation, the keyword method user (a) associates the foreign word to an English word (the keyword) that sounds like part of the foreign word, and (b) remembers a picture of the keyword and translation referents interacting. Ss who were instructed in keyword method use and provided with interactive pictures for each vocabulary item remembered more simple Spanish vocabulary translations than did control Ss not instructed to use the keyword method. Learning the acoustic links without a keyword method instruction did not improve vocabulary learning. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intermediate-size transposition and children's operational level.

Three experiments with a total of 170 children aged 4 yrs 8 mo–7 yrs 5 mo examined the relationship between intermediate-size transposition and operational level. In each experiment, concrete and preoperational Ss were identified by Piagetian tasks. In Exp I, half of the Ss received single-problem training and the other half multiple-problem training, followed by a far test of transposition. Exp II was similar to the multiple-training condition, but all Ss could verbalize and understand the concept "middle size." Exp III differed from Exp II in providing a test of near transposition after single-problem training. It was found that logical abilities as well as perceptual factors are involved in transposition performance. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bizarre imagery: The misremembered mnemonic.

Conducted 2 experiments with 56 undergraduates to measure the effects of bizarre imagery and image interaction on the brief and long-term memory of word pairs. Ss in Exp I performed an incidental learning task and were administered free- and cued-recall tests either 5 min or 1 wk after the task. Ss in Exp II received more intensive training in the learning task and completed 2 cued-recall tests in the same session and another cued-recall test 1 wk later. In both experiments, bizarre imagery did not improve memory more than plausible, interactive imagery. The degree of interaction in the image was a strong determinant of cued-recall performance at both retention intervals. Most Ss in Exp II believed that they had remembered more bizarre than plausible pairs, even though this was clearly not the case. Possible reasons for the acceptance of the notion that bizarre imagery improves memory are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transformations in the recognition of visual forms.

Conducted 3 experiments in which Ss were required to learn to recognize 4 flexible plastic shapes photographed on different backgrounds from different angles. Slides were designated as either prototypes (photographed from overhead on a black background), cued (photographed from many angles on a definite background, e.g., a chair), or uncued (the cued photographs placed on a black background). Ss were 80 undergraduates in Exp I, 80 16-24 yr olds in Exp II, and 43 undergraduates in Exp III. Variables investigated were (a) order, amount, and type of training (prototype, cued, or uncued); (b) type of training instructions (Ss were told either that there were 4 classes of objects or 4 objects viewed from various backgrounds); and (c) presence or absence of context in training or testing (background which gave cues to transformation). Results indicate that (a) type of training had a significant effect on performance; (b) the presentation of uncued test slides before cued ones decreased performance on the cued slides, while cued slides presented first facilitated performance on the uncued slides; and (c) the presence of context in training significantly increased rates of pattern learning and success in recognizing new material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)