Verbal Rehearsal, Semantic Elaboration, and Imagery

Verbal Rehearsal, Semantic Elaboration, and Imagery

Rehearsal, Semantic Elaboration, and Imagery • Verbal Rehearsal • Determines what is encoded • Semantic Elaboration • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions • Visual Imagery • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions

Rehearsal • A voluntary action may result in the creation of a perceptual representation. • Rehearsal is a voluntary action • such that he consequence of the action is identical to the perceptual representation of the input • whose purpose is the creation of a perceptual representation in either • Working memory • Long-term memory

Development of Rehearsal • Children under 5 or 6 do not spontaneously rehearse. • Can be induced to rehearse • Recall increases if children rehearse. • But these young children revert to not rehearsing. • Third graders rehearse poorly, but eight graders distribute rehearsals well. • Reflects improving metamemory with schooling: • Understanding of one’s own memory abilities.

Dual Aspect of Rehearsal • Perceptual Aspect • The effect of rehearsal is toorganizesmaller patterns into larger ones. • There may be interference between the perceptual experience produced by rehearsal and an experience produced by an input. • Rehearsal takes time and this limits the amount encoded • Semantic Aspect

Dual Aspect of Rehearsal • Perceptual Aspect • The effect of rehearsal is toorganizesmaller patterns into larger ones. • Tulving (1962) found that even when a list is presented in a different order on each study trial people always recall it in the same order. • Semantic Aspect

Dual Aspect of Rehearsal • Perceptual Aspect • Semantic Aspect • Distributed rehearsal encodes representation as part of long-term memory • Recognition does not require recency • Part of polymodal semantic network • Recall may be possible • Hence learning is a byproduct of attention

Semantic Aspect of Rehearsal • Distributed rehearsal determines which representations are transferred from working memory to long-term memory. • Primacy • Von Restorff Effect • Effect of rate of presentation

Effects of Distributed Rehearsal on List Learning • Primacy • First few items receive more rehearsals, hence are more likely to be encoded and ultimately recalled. • Von Restorff Effect • Distinctive item receives more rehearsals, hence is more likely to be encoded and ultimately recalled. • Rate of Presentation • The faster the presentation rate, the less time for rehearsal. • Hence, learning is a negative function of rate of presentation.

Effects of Distributed Rehearsal on List Learning • Primacy • First few items receive more rehearsals, hence are more likely to be encoded and ultimately recalled. • Von Restorff Effect • Rate of Presentation

Primacy is a function of number of rehearsals • Modigliani (1980) showed that the primacy effect is a result of distributed rehearsals.

Effects of Distributed Rehearsal on List Learning • Primacy • Von Restorff Effect • Distinctive item receives more rehearsals, hence is more likely to be encoded and ultimately recalled. • Rate of Presentation

Instructions • You will see a list of words. Try to recall as many words as possible.

Von Restorff Effect Distinctive item steals rehearsals from other items

Effects of Distributed Rehearsal on List Learning • Primacy • Von Restorff Effect • Rate of Presentation • The faster the presentation rate, the less time for rehearsal. • Hence, learning is a negative function of rate of presentation.

Results From RSVP Studies (Potter 1975, 1976; Intraub 1980; 1981) • Task • Identify pictures as belonging to a (complex) category (e.g., decorations) or not. • Very fast (114 msec) presentation rate. • Results • Observers perform the detection task accurately but do not remember most of what they have seen • Conclusion • Attending to input without rehearsal is not sufficient for transfer to LTM.

Rehearsal, Semantic Elaboration, & Imagery • Verbal Rehearsal • Determines what is encoded • Semantic Elaboration • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions • For example, word pair is elaborated into linking sentence. • The CAR hit the TREE. • Visual Imagery • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions

Linking Sentences • Bobrow & Bower (1969) compared the effect of reading a linking sentence to generating one for oneself on cued recall. • Yoked control subjects studied the linking sentences generated by one of the experimental subjects.

Rehearsal, Imagery, & Organization • Verbal Rehearsal • Determines what is encoded • Semantic Elaboration • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions • Linking sentences • More generally, memory is a function of comprehension • Craik & Lockhart (1972) • Bransford & Johnson (1972) • Visual Imagery • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions

Rehearsal, Imagery, & Organization • Verbal Rehearsal • Determines what is encoded • Semantic Elaboration • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions • Reduces the amount that needs to be encoded (chunking) • Has bootstrap effect as network expands • Visual Imagery • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions

Bootstrap Effect • There is a strong bootstrapping effect in learning. The more that is known, the easier it is to acquire new information because it can immediately be encoded as part of a detailed representation • However, the combination of old and new information can lead to false memories • Knowledge can either facilitate or retard (Proactive Interference) depending on the relationship between the old and new information

Rehearsal, Semantic Elaboration, & Imagery • Verbal Rehearsal • Determines what is encoded • Semantic Elaboration • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions • Visual Imagery • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions

Rehearsal, Imagery, & Organization • Verbal Rehearsal • Semantic Elaboration • Visual Imagery • Perceptual representation is semantically elaborated through use of structural descriptions • Learning is a positive function of the visual imagery of the study materials. • Learning increases when the student consciously attempts to generate visual images for the study materials. • Interactive imagery is more effective than discrete imagery for pairs and lists of study items.

Verbal Rehearsal, Semantic Elaboration, and Imagery