Study is a further examination of the conditions under which retroactive inhibition occurs in prose. The two variables manipulated are the similarity of the interpolated stories (similar vs. dissimilar) and the response requirements (recall vs. recognition). (Author)

This paper attempted to offer a theoretical framework on the action of Orienters on initiating attentional processes. (Author/RK)

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the relative efficiency of verbal and visual adjunct aids for concrete and abstract prose learning. For the abstract passage, verbal aids worked best and visual aids were somewhat disruptive. The concrete passage did not demonstrate the equivalency for two types of aids. (Author/PN)

This study examined the effects of familiarity of passage concepts and passage cohesion on retrieval of text information. Results showed that recall of propositions from passages with more familiar concepts was greater. Results indicate that familiarity stimulates elaboration of passage material and elaborations provide alternate retrieval…

The differential effects of idea levels of pre-writing questions and number of questions upon measures of elaboration in writing were examined. The interaction between the level and number of pre-writing questions and processing time in three writing experiments with a total of 174 undergraduate students was assessed. (TJH)

This study demonstrated a reliable method of determining the attributes of prose materials on an imagery-concreteness scale, and evaluated the effects of an advance organizer and a learning passage on learning and retention when the attributes of these passages are defined on a concrete-imagery continuum. (Author/PN)

Retention of prose is examined as it is affected by (1) outlines as advanced organizers; (2) preexperimental familiarity with the material; and (3) text genre. Findings are discussed in the context of current theories in cognitive psychology, particularly those of structure, organization, and representation of knowledge and prose. (Author/GK)

This study combined research on conceptual hierarchies and research on conceptual cues, for the purpose of measuring the effectiveness of combining supplementary cues with text material that has been organized hierarchically. It was hypothesized that subjects provided with hierarchical cues would score higher on post-tests measuring comprehension…

In 2 experiments, 80 and 88 college students, respectively, used either imposed or spontaneous tactics for studying a descriptive prose passage. Imposed tactics were either outlining or relating passage information to prior knowledge. Spontaneous tactics were at least as effective as were tactics imposed via short-term training. (TJH)

The effects of asking 48 undergraduates to generate personal examples of target concepts on learning of psychological concepts from prose were evaluated. This elaboration activity produced a significant positive effect. Elaboration processes seemed to influence the transfer of concepts to problem-solving, especially for lower ability students.…