Comprehension and Memory
During the early 1970s, a number of cognitive psychologists expressed dissatisfaction
with the artificiality of many memory experiments. They questioned whether memory
for wordlists could tell us anything about how memory operates in everyday life. Instead,
they championed the use of naturalistic materials (sentences, passages, passages of text,
short films etc), arguing that in order to discover interesting things about memory we
must study memory for interesting things.
What became clear from these studies was that people make extensive use of their
general knowledge to construct an interpretation of the event s during encoding and to fill
any gaps that appear during retrieval. The effect of prior knowledge was the focus of
extensive research throughout the 70s and this week’s lab experiment was designed to
provide an introduction to this field.
Prior knowledge can influence memory at two levels:
a) Comprehension
b) Recall
Common sense tells us that it is very difficult to remember something we don’t
understand, and what we understand depends to a large extent on what we already know.
This approach is illustrated by an experiment by Bransford and Johnson (1972), who
found that both the comprehension and subsequent recall of a complex passage were
aided if reading the passage was preceded by seeing an informative title. For example,
consider the following:
The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into different groups. Of
course one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go
somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step, otherwise you are pretty well
set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at one
time than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can
easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem
complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to
foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then one can
never tell. After the procedure is completed one arranges the materials into different
groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be
used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is a
part of life.
All of this seems pretty abstract until you learn that the paragraph refers to washing
clothes. Read the paragraph again and now hopefully your comprehension will be
improved (although your spin cycle may not).
Prior knowledge plays a more subtle role in memory by influencing our interpretation of
an event, serving to limit the amount of information we retain since only certain
information will be relevant to our particular perspective (Pichert & Anderson, 1977).
Here, we reinvestigate the Pichert & Anderson (1977) approach in a slightly modified
version of one of their experiments.
Method
Subjects are divided into two even-sized groups, and are all given the same passage to
read, basically a description of a house. While reading this passage, half of the subjects
are given the instruction to imagine that they are prospective house-buyers (BUYING
perspective) and the other half to read it as prospective burglars (BURGLING
perspective).
Score recall by selecting out concepts relevant to the two perspectives, using the checklist
provided. This will give a score out of 12 in each perspective.
Report
In your report, use appropriate statistics to test whether the perspective adopted by the
reader altered their subsequent recall. In your discussion, as well as discussing these
results, you may like to think about:
a) the advantages/disadvantages of using ‘naturalistic’ materials (include a brief
discussion of the ‘free recall’ component in the practical).
b) Practical implications of research into the effects of prior knowledge.
References
Bransford, J.D. and Johnson, M.K. (1972). Contextual prerequisites for understanding.
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 11, 717-726.
Pichert, J.W. and Anderson, R.C. (1977). Taking different perspectives on a story.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 309-315.
Hasher, L. and Griffin, M. (1978). Reconstructive and reproductive processes in
memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4,
318-330.
Multiple copies of all three papers are housed in the Reading Room Reserve collection of
the Main Library. These topics are also well covered in Michael Eysenck’s book A
Handbook of Cognitive Psychology and lots of other cognitive texts.
Materials follow….
As you read the passage below, imagine you are
thinking of burgling the house.
The two boys ran until they came to the driveway.
“See I told you today was good for skipping school,” said Mark. “Mum is never
home on Thursday,” he added. Tall hedges hid the house from the road so the pair
strolled across the finely landscaped garden
“I never knew your place was so big” said Pete.
“Yeah, but it’s nicer now than it used to be since Dad had the new stone siding put
on and added the fire place” said Mark.
There were front and back doors and a side door which led to the garage which
was empty except for three parked 10-speed bikes. They went in the side door,
Mark explaining that it was always open in case his younger sisters got home
earlier than his mother.
Pete wanted to see the house so Mark started with the living room. It, like the rest
of the downstairs, was newly painted. Mark turned on the stereo, the noise of
which worried Pete.
“Don’t worry, the nearest house is a quarter of a mile away” Mark shouted. Pete
felt more comfortable observing that no houses could be seen in any direction
beyond the huge garden.
The dining room with all the china, silver and cut glass was no place to play so the
boys moved into the kitchen where they made sandwiches. Mark said they
wouldn’t go to the basement because it had been damp and musty ever since the
new plumbing was installed.
“This is where my Dad keeps his famous paintings and his coin collection” Mark
said as they peered into the study. Mark boasts that he could get spending money
whenever he needed it since he’d discovered that his Dad kept a lot in the desk
drawer.
There were three upstairs bedrooms. Mark showed Pete his mother’s closet which
was filled with furs and the locked box which held her jewels. His sisters’ room
was uninteresting except for the colour T.V. which Mark carried to his room.
Mark boasts that the bathroom in the hall was his since one had been added to his
sisters’ room for their use. The big highlight in his room though was a leak in the
ceiling where the old roof had finally rotted.
As you read the passage below, imagine you are
thinking of buying the house.
The two boys ran until they came to the driveway.
“See I told you today was good for skipping school,” said Mark. “Mum is never
home on Thursday,” he added. Tall hedges hid the house from the road so the pair
strolled across the finely landscaped garden
“I never knew your place was so big” said Pete.
“Yeah, but it’s nicer now than it used to be since Dad had the new stone siding put
on and added the fire place” said Mark.
There were front and back doors and a side door which led to the garage which
was empty except for three parked 10-speed bikes. They went in the side door,
Mark explaining that it was always open in case his younger sisters got home
earlier than his mother.
Pete wanted to see the house so Mark started with the living room. It, like the rest
of the downstairs, was newly painted. Mark turned on the stereo, the noise of
which worried Pete.
“Don’t worry, the nearest house is a quarter of a mile away” Mark shouted. Pete
felt more comfortable observing that no houses could be seen in any direction
beyond the huge garden.
The dining room with all the china, silver and cut glass was no place to play so the
boys moved into the kitchen where they made sandwiches. Mark said they
wouldn’t go to the basement because it had been damp and musty ever since the
new plumbing was installed.
“This is where my Dad keeps his famous paintings and his coin collection” Mark
said as they peered into the study. Mark boasts that he could get spending money
whenever he needed it since he’d discovered that his Dad kept a lot in the desk
drawer.
There were three upstairs bedrooms. Mark showed Pete his mother’s closet which
was filled with furs and the locked box which held her jewels. His sisters’ room
was uninteresting except for the colour T.V. which Mark carried to his room.
Mark boasts that the bathroom in the hall was his since one had been added to his
sisters’ room for their use. The big highlight in his room though was a leak in the
ceiling where the old roof had finally rotted.
Recall Checklist
Below are 12 concepts thought to be of particular relevance to each perspective – score
your protocol according to its perspective.
List A:
House hidden from road
Empty on Thursdays
Side door left open
3 bicycles
Stereo system
½ mile from neighbours
China, silver, glass
Paintings and coin collection
Money in desk
Furs
Jewellery
Colour T.V.
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
Landscaped garden
New fire place
Garage
Newly decorated
New plumbing
Damp basement
Large garden
Study
Dining room
3 bedrooms
Added bathroom
Leaking roof
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
List B: