Subjects studied one of three maps varying in feature configuration and spatial distribution before reading or listening to a related story. There were no differences in recall due to mode of text presentation, but the type of map profoundly influenced recall from both the test and the map. (Author/GDC)

Evidence is presented to demonstrate that arranging word lists on distinctive visual patterns results in better recall performance than does presenting the same word lists on a pattern that is always the same. Results of three experiments using college age students are reported. (Author/LMO)

Argues that mental images have functional properties similar to those of audiovisual media in that they can be intentionally and systematically used as the informational base for cognitive operations and as an aid to new learning. Experimental evidence is cited to support the claims. Nineteen references are cited. (Author/CHC)

Reports three experiments to investigate differences in the semantic classification of pictures and words. The data suggest that visual short-term memory and semantic memory operate in semantic-decision tasks though these sources of information differ in characteristics, potential for activation, and level of abstraction. (PMJ)

The ability to remember visual stimuli over a short delay period is limited by the small capacity of visual working memory (VWM). Here the authors investigate the role of learning in enhancing VWM. Participants saw 2 spatial arrays separated by a 1-s interval. The 2 arrays were identical except for 1 location. Participants had to detect the…

Attention and working memory limitations set strict limits on visual representations, yet researchers have little appreciation of how these limits constrain the acquisition of information in ongoing visually guided behavior. Subjects performed a brick sorting task in a virtual environment. A change was made to 1 of the features of the brick being…

Evolving from concern for the increasing requirements for literacy, especially visual literacy, the purpose of this study was to determine the impact of color on learning. Sixty midwestern college students were assigned to groups where they read and studied a graphic presentation, and then were tested on their recall and retention. The following…

Research has demonstrated that subjects are sensitive to both thematic and non-thematic information in pictorial stimuli. Three experiments were conducted to investigate memory for pictures under conditions of difficult foil discriminability and lengthy retention intervals. The foils differed from the studied persons in the number and quality of…

The paper reports results and discusses implications of three studies on captioning films and television programs for deaf audiences. Study I dealt with the short-term visual memory required in recognition of fingerspelled letters, while study II focused on serial position effects and forward making (interference produced by first stimulus on the…

Children in kindergarten, third grade, and fifth grade were presented a list of either pictures or words (with items presented varying numbers of times on the study trail). In both picture and word conditions, half of the subjects estimated how many times each item had been presented (absolute judgments) and the other half judged which of two…

A battery of tests requiring sequential responses, including WISC Digit Span, WISC Picture Arrangement, ITPA Digits, and ITPA Visual Motor Sequencing, was administered to 114 children. Fifty-seven children ranging in age from 6.6 to 13.7 years were clients referred to a reading clinic for diagnosis of reading difficulties; the other 57 were…

An experiment, involving 37 deaf and 36 hearings Ss (aged 10-12 and 15-18 years), was conducted to determine the role of visual and auditory processing in deaf and hearing children using a short-term memory paradigm. (Author/SBH)

To determine whether different long-term memory representations are necessary for verbal and visual material, subjects studied faces composed of visual features or verbal facts composed of concepts. Findings showed interference between verbal and pictorial information, and supported the ACT theory that pictorial and verbal materials are stored…

The author describes his research experience in identifying potentially unique learning characteristics of gifted students. Visual imagery, mnemonics, spatial organization, and higher level verbal learning strategies are explored. Among broad conclusions reached is the perception of gifted students as active learners who spontaneously transform…