Bimodal format effects in working memory (original) (raw)
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How the bimodal format of presentation affects working memory: an overview
Cognitive Processing, 2008
The best format in which information that has to be recalled is presented has been investigated in several studies, which focused on the impact of bimodal stimulation on working memory performance. An enhancement of participant's performance in terms of correct recall has been repeatedly found, when bimodal formats of presentation (i.e., audiovisual) were compared to unimodal formats (i.e, either visual or auditory), in providing implications for multimedial learning. Several theoretical frameworks have been suggested in order to account for the bimodal advantage, ranging from those emphasizing early stages of processing (such as automatic alerting effects or multisensory integration processes) to those centred on late stages of processing (as postulated by the dual coding theory). The aim of this paper is to review previous contributions to this topic, providing a comprehensive theoretical framework, which is updated by the latest empirical studies.
Presentation format and its effect on working memory
Memory & Cognition, 2002
In three experiments, we examined the separate cognitive demands of processing and storage in working memory and looked at how effective the coordination was when items for storage varied in format/ modality. A sentence verification task involving arithmetic facts was combined with a span task involving two to six items presented in picture, printed word, or spoken word format. The first two experiments were the same, except for the added requirement of articulation of the math sentence in Experiment 2. Experiment 3 varied the length of the span item and compared recall with recognition performance. The results showed that both spoken words and pictures produced superior recall and recognition, as compared with printed words, and are consistent with and Mayer's (2001) models of working memory. Also, the differences in processing performance across spans varied with the difficulty of the task but showed the strongest support for the resource allocation model .
Presentation format effects in working memory: The role of attention
Memory & Cognition, 2005
Four experiments are reported in which participants attempted to remember three or six concrete nouns, presented as pictures, spoken words, or printed words, while also verifying the accuracy of sentences. Hypotheses meant to explain the higher recall of pictures and spoken words over printed words were tested. Increasing the difficulty and changing the type of processing task from arithmetic to a visual/ spatial reasoning task did not influence recall. An examination of long-term modality effects showed that those effects were not sufficient to explain the superior performance with spoken words and pictures. Only when we manipulated the allocation of attention to the items in the storage task by requiring the participants to articulate the items and by presenting the stimulus items under a degraded condition were we able to reduce or remove the effect of presentation format. The findings suggest that the better recall of pictures and spoken words over printed words result from the fact that under normal presentation conditions, printed words receive less processing attention than pictures and spoken words do.
The multiple faces of working memory
Intelligence, 2003
Working memory capacity was differentiated along functional and content-related facets. Twenty-four tasks were constructed to operationalize the cells of the proposed taxonomy. We tested 133 university students with the new tasks, together with six working memory marker tasks. With structural equation models, three working memory functions could be distinguished: Simultaneous storage and processing, supervision, and coordination of elements into structures. Each function was further subdivided into distinct components of variance. On the content dimension, evidence for a dissociation between verbal-numerical working memory and spatial working memory was comparatively weak.
The effect of mode of presentation, cognitive load, and individual differences on recall
2018
The exponential growth of technology has placed today’s educational system in a quandary, where many schools are endeavouring to meet the requirements of the current digital generation without knowing how mobile technology affects learning. Mayer’s (2005) Multimedia and Redundancy Principles of Learning offer explanations for learning, and were the key theories against which the current research was measured. The aim of the investigation was to measure learning outcome in three separate subject disciplines: science–topic heart; geography–topic map; and English–topic poem, over two testing times, to determine whether mode of presentation (paper vs. M-technology, i.e., Pads®) and cognitive load (text-only vs. text & graphics vs. graphics & audio vs. text, graphics & audio) had an impact on recall. The variables of gender, working memory, and motivation were identified as possible individual differences affecting learning outcome. An opportunity sample of 346 secondary school students,...
Presentation Format Effects in a Levels-of-Processing Task
Experimental Psychology (formerly "Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie"), 2008
Three experiments were conducted to examine better performance in long-term memory when stimulus items are pictures or spoken words compared to printed words. Hypotheses regarding the allocation of attention to printed words, the semantic link between pictures and processing, and a rich long-term representation for pictures were tested. Using levels-of-processing tasks eliminated format effects when no memory test was expected and processing was deep (E1), and when study and test formats did not match (E3). Pictures produced superior performance when a memory test was expected (E1 & 2) and when study and test formats were the same (E3). Results of all experiments support the attenuation of attention model and that picture superiority is due to a more direct access to semantic processing and a richer visual code. General principles to guide the processing of stimulus information are discussed.
The Role of Working Memory in a Double Span Task
Psychologica Belgica, 1999
This paper introduces a double span task to activate all three components of Baddeley and Hitch's working memory model simultaneously. Subjects were presented with sequences of words or pictures which appeared one by one at a different, randomly chosen location on a 4 x 4 grid. Subsequently they were asked for the serial recall of content, location or both. A
Age Differences and Format Effects in Working Memory
Experimental Aging Research, 2010
Format effects refer to lower recall of printed words from working memory when compared to spoken words or pictures. These effects have been attributed to an attenuation of attention to printed words. The present experiment compares younger and older adults' recall of three or six items presented as pictures, spoken words, printed words, and alternating case WoRdS. The latter stimuli have been shown to increase attention to printed words and, thus, reduce format effects. The question of interest was whether these stimuli would also reduce format effects for older adults whose working memory capacity has fewer attentional resources to allocate. Results showed that older adults performed as well as younger adults with three items but less well with six and that format effects were reduced for both age groups, but more for young, when alternating case words were used. Other findings regarding executive control of working memory are discussed. The obtained differences support models of reduced capacity in older adult working memory.
The multi-component model of working memory: Explorations in experimental cognitive psychology
Neuroscience, 2006
There are a number of ways one can hope to describe and explain cognitive abilities, each of them contributing a unique and valuable perspective. Cognitive psychology tries to develop and test functional accounts of cognitive systems that explain the capacities and properties of cognitive abilities as revealed by empirical data gathered by a range of behavioral experimental paradigms. Much of the research in the cognitive psychology of working memory has been strongly influenced by the multi-component model of working memory [Baddeley AD, Hitch GJ (1974) Working memory. In: Recent advances in learning and motivation, Vol. 8 (Bower GA, ed), pp 47-90. New York: Academic Press; Baddeley AD (1986) Working memory. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press; Baddeley A. Working memory: Thought and action.
The Psychological Record
Different encoding activities during list learning, such as writing down or reading aloud, have a differential effect on memory performance. It has been argued that intermodal processing, that is, auditory processing of visually presented material and vice versa, results in a better performance than intramodal processing. This has been referred to as the ''translation hypothesis:' In this study, we set out to test the translation hypothesis looking at all four possible experimental conditions using visual and auditory presentation and writing and vocalization as encoding activities. The results show a similar memory performance in all conditions apart from the one in which visually presented words had to be written down. That is, in the only condition in which subjects did not hear the words (either via auditory presentation or via their own vocalization), fewer words were remembered. These findings do not support the translation hypothesis and are more in agreement with previous theoretical proposals regarding long-term modality effects. For centuries, students and educators have been interested in developing strategies in order to improve memory performance. This has lead to the development of numerous methods that may improve memory (Searle man & Herrmann , 1994). For example, methods have been proposed that focus on the learning of strategies in order to structure the to-be-Iearned material, thus requiring an active involvement of the subject. Other methods may concentrate on the way in which the information is presented to the individual. For example, instructional materials that use a dual-mode presentation technique-such as auditory text combined with visual diagrams-may result in superior learning and memory performance compared to single-modality formats-such as visual text and visual diagrams (Tindall-Ford, Chandler, & Sweller, 1997). A third, different approach concerns the effects of distinct encoding activities on memory performance. For example, it has been argued that