Verbal coding in olfactory versus nonolfactory cognition

Two paired-associate memory experiments were conducted to investigate verba l coding in olfactory versus nonolfactory cognition. Experiment 1 examined the effects of switching/not switching odors and visual items to words betw een encoding and test sessions. Experiment 2 examined switching/not switchi ng perceptual odors and verbal-imagine versions of odors with each other. E xperiment 1 showed that memory was impaired for odors but not visual cues w hen they were switched to their verbal form at test. Experiment 2 revealed that memory was impaired for both odors and verbal-imagine cues when they w ere switched in format at test and that odor sensory imagery was not access ed by the instruction to imagine a smell. Together, these findings suggest that olfaction is distinguished from other sensory systems by the degree of verbal coding involved in associated cognitive processing.