The Effects of Semantic Processing on the Re-Call of Words in a Memory Test

The Effects of Semantic Processing on the Re-Call of Words in a Memory Test

The effects of semantic processing on the re-call of words in a memory test

Abstract

Memory has been widely researched, and results have been somewhat consistent, although a lot of the research appears to be carried out on the memory of young children, and the differences in memory between age ranges. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the mode of remembering things can have an impact on the amount that can be remembered. An experiment was carried out on 40 participants who were split into two conditions. Both groups were asked to remember a set of 20 pairs of words, in condition one; by creating bizarre mental images in their heads for the words, and condition two they were asked to repeat the words over and over in their heads. They were then given a distracter task and asked to recall as many of the words as they could remember. Results showed that there was a greater recall in the group who created the mental images, supporting the idea of (Craik & Lockhart 1972) and their levels of processing, which would predict that the more deeply the words were processed, the more they will be remembered. This study found that the mode of remembering stimuli can have a great impact upon how much is actually remembered, and the more that something is processed in the mind, it becomes embedded deeper in the long term memory.

Introduction

Memory and recall play an important part in everyday life. How we process things cans have a major impact on how much we can recall. Many experiments have been carried out and there is a broad range of literature and theories on long term memory, more specifically the techniques that can be used to aid in the recall of the long term memory. Visual imagery appears to be a major aid in the recall of words (Dirkx & Craik, 1992). This study found that the use of visual imagery helped both older and younger participants in the number of words that can be recalled. This area of interest is widely researched...

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