Research outline
Dusana Rybarova
Psyc 329B
May 30 2004
The role of instruction 'to imagine' in the memory for words
(A research outline)
Step 1: Find a research idea
This study is an investigation of the role of mental imagery in memory improvement. There is
substantial evidence that different mnemonic techniques can improve memory (Campos &
Gonzalez, 2004; Kaschel & Sergio Cantagallo, 2002). According to Hux, Manasse and Wright,
(2000) most of these techniques are based on creating an image that helps to store and recall the
item to be remembered. However, researchers have not systematically investigated the impact of
a concrete instruction to imagine objects corresponding to words to the subsequent memory of
these words. Understanding the relationship between the instruction to create an image for a
word and the subsequent memory for this item can provide an interesting insight into the
relationship between imagery and language memory systems. Moreover, if the instruction to
create an image for a word can indeed improve memory for that word, this finding can be
utilized in the educational procedures for second language vocabulary learning.
Step 2: Convert your research idea into a specific research hypothesis
Previous research showed that mental imagery techniques are in general efficient in improving
memory. We predict that an explicit instruction to create a mental image corresponding to a
particular word will encourage utilization of imagery in remembering words and result in better
memory performance for those words. In other words, if one group of subjects is instructed to
use imagery while memorizing words and other group is not instructed to do so, subjects in the
first group should show higher performance on a subsequent memory test for the studied words
than subjects that were not instructed to use imagery. More specifically, we predict that college
students who are instructed to form mental images while studying a list of 40 words for 2
minutes will recall more words (on average) than college students who study the same words for
2 minutes but are not given instructions to form mental images.
Step 3: Determine how you will define and measure your variables
Variables: The independent variable in our experiment will be the instruction to use imagery in
remembering a list of words. There will be two levels of this variable in the study: first level is
associated with the treatment condition in which subjects will be instructed to use imagery, the
second level corresponds to the condition in which subjects will not be explicitly instructed to
use imagery. Since the second group will not receive any specific instructions, it can be
considered a no-treatment control group. The dependent variable will be the number of words
recalled from the studied list on a free recall task immediately after the study session.
Measurement: Subjects will be studying 40 concrete words with equal frequency and imagery
ratings for 2 minutes. The study session will be immediately followed by a free recall test in
which subject's task will be to write down as many words from the studied list as possible during
a 5 minutes session. The number of words recalled by participants in each group will be
compared.
Step 4: Identify the participants or subjects
Applying convenience sampling method, 24 subjects will be selected from the INDV pool at the
University of Arizona. 12 female subjects (20-25 years of age) and 12 male subjects (19-25 years
Research outline
Dusana Rybarova
Psyc 329B
May 30 2004
of age) will participate in this study. They will receive a course credit for their participation in
the study. Before the study, an informed consent will be obtained from all participants.
Step 5: Select a research strategy
This study follows the principles of experimental research strategy since we are manipulating an
independent variable (instruction) to obtain memory scores as values of the dependent variable.
Possible extraneous variables include time of the day, age and sex of the participants. To reduce
the impact of these variables we controlled them by holding the time of the day (when we tested
subjects in both groups) constant and by matching the sex and age of subjects in the two
experimental groups (i.e. treatment conditions).
Step 6. Select a research design
To test the differences in memory performance we selected a between subjects factorial design.
We will compare the results between the group of subjects who received the instruction to
imagine objects corresponding to the studied words with the results of the control group that did
not receive such instructions. Single-factor design will be used in this study with two levels of
the factor 'instructions'.
Step 7: Conduct the study
The study will be conducted in a quiet room equipped with a computer. Subjects will be
randomly assigned into the imagery instruction or no-treatment group. After the initial
instructions they will be presented with words on a computer screen with each word staying on
the screen for 2 seconds and with a 1 second blank screen pause between the presentations. After
the presentation subjects will be asked to write down as many words as they can recall during a 5
minute interval.
Step 8: Evaluate the data
One way ANOVA with the factor of instruction (imagery instruction or no instruction) will be
performed to evaluate the significance of the differences between the two groups.
Step 9. Report the results
The results of the experiment will be reported in this section.
Step 10: Refine or reformulate your research idea
In case the results of this study indicate that instruction to imagine has significant impact
on improvement of memory for words, it will be interesting to test whether this mnemonic
method can be directly used in second language vocabulary learning. More specifically, in a
follow up experiment native speakers of English would be presented with new words (words
unknown to the subjects) of a second language (e.g. Spanish) and one group would be instructed
to use imagery during the study phase whereas the other group would not be given any specific
instructions.
References:
Campos, A., Amor, A., Gonzalez, M. A. (2004). The importance of the keywordgeneration method in keyword mnemonics. Experimental Psychology, 51, 125-131.
Research outline
Dusana Rybarova
Psyc 329B
May 30 2004
Kaschel, R. D., Sergio Cantagallo, A. (2002). Imagery mnemonics for the rehabilitation
of memory: A randomized group controlled trial. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 12, 127153.
Hux, K., Manasse, N., Wright, S. (2000). Effect of training frequency on face-name
recall by adults with traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 14, 907-920.