Assessing the time course under which underlying memory representations can be formed is an important question for understanding memory. Several studies assessing item memory have shown that gist representations of items are laid out more rapidly than verbatim representations. However, for associations among items/components, which form the core…

Previous research has shown that processing words with an up/down association (e.g., bird, foot) can influence the subsequent identification of visual targets in congruent location (at the top/bottom of the screen). However, as facilitation and interference were found under similar conditions, the nature of the underlying mechanisms remained…

This study tested the hypothesis that memory for pictorial material is dependent on initial comprehension of the depicted relationships. A total of 72 second, sixth and ninth graders were compared on ability to remember cartoon pictures which did or did not contain action lines as clues to the interaction between actors. (MS)