Task Appropriateness of Mnemonic Techniques

The present article reviewed research in which two or more mnemonic techniques in the paradigms of either free recall, paired-associate, or serial learning have been compared. The review showed that the most effective mnemonic differed across the three paradigms: imagery mediation for paired-associate learning, the story mnemonic for free recall learning, and the method of loci for serial learning. Each mnemonic varies in its suitability for different paradigms, and each paradigm is facilitated more by the use of certain mnemonics than by others. These conclusions support the view that memory processing differs across memory tasks. They also indicate that differences in memory performance across tasks are due not only to differences in basic processes (such as recognition and perception) elicited by tasks but also to the task appropriateness of control processes applied to a task.

Correlational Structure as a Determinant of Goodness of Complex Patterns

The stimulus sets used by Whitman and Garner (1962) to study the effect of form of redundancy on free-recall learning were arranged in 3 × 3 configurations to form single patterns. Various spatial arrangements of the 9 figures in each of the 3 sets tested several questions regarding judged goodness of form. Rating of goodness of form on a 7-point scale were made by 32 college students. Patterns composed of elements which have correlated structure in the form of simple contingencies, and which Whitman and Garner found were easily learned in free recall, are good; patterns composed of elements which have correlational structure in the form of complex interactions, and which Whitman and Garner found were extremely difficult to learn, are not. Uncertainty calculated for spatial position using 2-dimensional Cartesian coordinates as variables does not appear to be associated with pattern goodness. However, spatial arrangements of the elements exert a very strong effect on pattern goodness.