How does background information improve memory for text content?

Full Abstract

In two experiments, we investigated whether reading background information benefits memory for text content by influencing the amount of content encoded or the organization of the encoded content. In Experiment 1, half of the participants read background information about the issues to be discussed in the text material, whereas half did not. All the participants were then tested for free recall and cued recall of text content. Free recall was greater for individuals who read issue information than for those who did not. The groups did not differ on cued recall, suggesting that background information did not facilitate the encoding of more text content. Measures of representational organization indicated that increased recall in the issue information group resulted from better organization of content in memory. Experiment 2 extended these findings, using background information about text sources, demonstrated that the efficacy of background information depends on the semantic relationship between that information and text content.

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Author information

Author/s: Rawson, Katherine A (KA); Kintsch, Walter (W);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309-0345, USA. krawson@psych.colorado.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Memory & cognition (Mem Cognit), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jul; vol 30 (issue 5) : pp 768-78

Dates: Created 2002/09/10; Completed 2002/10/16; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12219893, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Attention
Concept Formation
Cues
Female

Humans
Male
Mental Recall
Reading
Semantics

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