CONCRETENESS EFFECTS IN TEXT RECALL - DUAL CODING OR CONTEXT AVAILABILITY

THIS STUDY investigated mio alternative theoretical explanations for t he effect of concreteness on text recall: dual coding and context avai lability. Studies by Marschark (1985) and Ransdell and Fischer (1989) have been cited as support for the context availability view but these studies produced mixed results regarding concreteness effects in the free recall of fictitious biographical paragraphs. The present study e xtended this research by using (a) different materials adapted from na turally occurring texts about actual historical figures, (b) ratings f or familiarity, and (c) more stringent experimental controls. Subjects were undergraduate students: 40 in Experiment 1 (between-subjects des ign) and 24 in Experiment 2 (within-subject design). Results indicated concreteness effects in both experiments. An interaction of concreten ess and paragraph, interpreted in the light of differences in familiar ity ratings for the historical figures, suggested separate contributio ns of familiarity and concreteness to recall. Results are interpreted as favoring a dual coding theory explanation. Implications for text de sign are discussed.