Abstract
Two experiments reevaluated the possible role of mental imagery in free recall of concrete and abstract words. In Experiment 1, the number and rate of list presentations were manipulated. Incidental recall following an imagery rating task yielded reliable concreteness effects after two presentations but not after a single presentation, regardless of presentation rate. In Experiment 2, we examined the effects of relational (categorization) and item-specific (imagery rating) processing tasks on memory for categorically related or unrelated concrete and abstract words. Concreteness effects were obtained when unrelated words were sorted into categories but not when they were rated on imagery. Related words failed to yield concreteness effects under any orienting condition. The results support the view that the presence or absence of concreteness effects in free recall depends on the relative salience of distinctive and relational information. This conclusion constrains theoretical explanations of the role of mental imagery in memory and cognition.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Batttg, W. F., & Montague, W. E. (1969). Category norms tor verbal items in 56 categories: A replication and extension of the Connecticut category norms.Journal of Experimental Psychology Monographs,80 (3, Pt. 2).
Begg, I. (1972). Recall of meaningful phrases.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,11, 431–439.
Begg, I. (1982). Imagery, organization, and discriminative processes.Canadian Journalof Psychology,36, 273–290.
Berrian, R. W., Metzler, D. P., Kroll, N. E., &Clark-Meyers, G. M. (1979). Estimates of imagery, ease of definition, and animateness for 328 adjectives.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,5, 435–447.
Brewer, W. F. (1975). Memory for ideas: Synonym substitution.Memory & Cognition,3, 458–464.
Franks, J., &Bransforo, J. (1972). The acquisition of abstract ideas.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,11, 311–315.
Helstrup, T. (1987). One, two, or three memories? A problem-solving approach to memory for performed acts.Acta Psychologies,66, 37–68.
Huffman, C. (1991).The contributions of ease of imagery and image vividness to concreleness effects in memory. Unpublished master's thesis. University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Humphreys, M. S. (1978). Item and relational information: A casefor context independent retrieval.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,17, 175–188.
Hunt, R. R., &Einstein, G. O. (1981). Relational and item-specific informationinmemory.Journalof Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,15, 559–566.
Hunt, R. R., &Marschark, M. (1987). Yet another picture of imagery: The role of shared and distinctive information. In M. Pressley & M. McDaniei (Eds.),Imagery and related mnemonic processes (pp. 129–150). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Jacoby, L. L., &Craik, F. I. M. (1979). Effects of elaboration of processing at encoding and retrieval: Trace distinctiveness and recovery of initial context. In L. S. Cermack & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.),Levels of processing in human memory (pp. 1–21). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kirk, R. E. (1968).Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences. Beimoni, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Marschark, M. (1985). Imagery and organization in the recall of prose.Journal of Memory & Language,24, 734–745.
Marschark, M., &Cornold, C. (1990). Imagery and verbal memory. In C. Comoldi & M. McDaniei (Eds.),Imagery and cognition (pp. 133–182). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Marschark, M., &Hunt, R. R. (1989). A reexamination of the role of imagery in learning and memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,15, 710–720.
Marschark, M., &Paivio, A. (1977). Integrative processing of concrete and abstract sentences.Journal of Verbal learning & Verbal Behavior,16, 217–231.
Marschark, M., Richman, C. L., Yuille, J. C., &Hunt, R. R. (1987). The role of imagery in memory: On shared and distinctive information.Psychological Bulletin,102, 28–41.
Marschark, M., & Surtan, L. (1989a, November). Why are there (sometimes) concreieness effects in freerecall? Paper presented at the meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Atlanta. GA.
Marschark, M., &Surian, L. (1989b). Why does imagery improve memory?European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,1, 251–263.
Marschark, M., Warner, J., Thompson, R. &Huffman, C. (1991). Concreteness, imagery, and memory forprose. In R. Logic & M. Denis (Eds.).Imageryinhuman cognition (pp. 194–207). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Morris, P. E., &Stevens, R. (1974). Linking images and freerecall.Journal of Verbal Learning A Verbal Behavior,13, 310–315.
Nelson, D. L., &Schreiber, T. A. (1992). Word concreteness and word structure as independent deterninants of recall.Journal of Memory & Language,31, 237–260.
Paivio, A. (1971).Imagery and verbalprocesses. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Paivio, A. (1986).Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Paivio, A. (1991). Dual coding theory: Retrospect and current status.Canadian Journal of Psychology,45, 255–287.
Paivio, A., &Csapo, K. (1969). Concrete-image and verbal memory codes.Journal of Experimental Psychology,80, 279–285.
Paivio, A., Yuille, J. C., &Madig An, S. (1968). Concreteness, imagery, andmeaningfulnessvalues for 925 nouns.Journal of Experimental Psychology Monographs,76 (1, Pt. 2). 1–25.
Richardson, J. T. E. (1975). Imagery and deep structure in the recall of English nominalizations.BritishJournal of Psychology,66, 333–339.
Rissenberg, M., &Glanzer, M. (1987). Free recall and word finding ability in normal aging and senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type: The effect of item concreteness.Journalof Gerontology,42, 318–322.
Rubin, D. C. (1980). 51 properties of 125words: A unit analysis of verbal behavior.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,19, 736–755.
Schwanenflugel, P., Akin, C., &Luh, W.-M. (1992). Context availability and therecall of abstract and concrete words.Memory & Cognition,20, 96–104.
Schwanenflucel, P. J., Harnishfeger, K. K., &Stowe, R. W. (1988). Context availability and lexical decisions for abstract and concrete words.Journal of Memory & Langiuige,27, 499–520.
Schwanenflucel, P., &Shoben, E. J. (1983). Differential context effects in the comprehension of concrete and abstract prose.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, A Cognition,9, 82–102.
Siein, B., &Bransford, J. D. (1979). Constraints on effective elaboration: Effects of precision and subject generation.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,18, 769–778.
Surian, L., &Marschark, M. (1989).Imagery and memory: Effects of semantic relations and concreteness (Research Bulletin No. 32). University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Language Research Group.
Tulving, E. (1962). Subjective organization in free recall of “unrelated” words.Psychological Review,69, 344–354.
Tulving, E., &Thomson, D. (1973). Encoding specificity and retention processes in episodic memory.Psychological Review,80, 352–373.
Wattenmaker, W. D., &Shoben, E. J. (1987). Context and the recallability of concrete and abstract sentences.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition,13, 140–150.
Yuille, J. C., &Paivio, A. (1969). Abstractness and the recallof connected discourse.Journal of Experimental Psychology,82, 467–471.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Portions of this research were conducted while M. M. was supported by Grants NINCDS KO4-NS01267 and NIDCD K04-DC00028 and L. S. was supported by a grant from the Fulbright Foundation.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marschark, M., Surian, L. Concreteness effects in free recall: The roles of imaginai and relational processing. Mem Cogn 20, 612–620 (1992). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202711
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202711