CONCRETENESS AND IMAGERY EFFECTS IN THE WRITTEN COMPOSITION OF DEFINITIONS

In 2 experiments, undergraduates composed written definitions of concr ete and abstract nouns that were matched for frequency of usage and me aningfulness. Across both experiments, definitions of concrete words e xhibited higher ratings for quality, greater length in words, shorter latencies, and more self-reports of an imagery strategy. Definitions f or abstract words produced more self-reports of a verbal-associative s trategy. The results replicate those of an earlier study involving ora l production of definitions, suggesting that common cognitive mechanis ms underlie the production of spoken and written language as explained by dual coding theory. Instructionally, the use of concreteness and i magination in composing definitions may lead to improved student writi ng.