The article presents a theoretical elaboration of the potential relationship between the academic and artistic approaches within a problem-based educational setting. The investigation is based on Koestler's idea of the "bisociation" (blending) of dissimilar thinking and action matrices as the foundational mechanism of human creation in…

The associative sequence learning model proposes that the development of the mirror system depends on the same mechanisms of associative learning that mediate Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning. To test this model, two experiments used the reduction of automatic imitation through incompatible sensorimotor training to assess whether mirror…

Given the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and computer as synonyms in ICT-integration research on the one hand, and the potential problems in doing so on the other, this contribution tries to gain insight in the understanding of the words computer and ICT in different settings. In five different countries (Belgium, Finland,…

A field-based course at the University of Arizona called Sense of Place (SOP) covers the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. SOP was quantitatively assessed for pedagogical effectiveness. Students of the Spring 2008 course were given pre- and post-course word association surveys in order to assess awareness and comprehension…

This research develops a narrative of incidents of intentional learning by students studying undergraduate economics as represented in their written reflective journals. The deliberate integration of learner reflection, reflective practice and reflective writing into the pedagogy may facilitate transfer learning (Sousa, 2006). Transfer has been…

The relationship between cue differentiation and interference was investigated in three paired-associate recall experiments. It was concluded that discriminative coding is sufficient to eliminate interference resulting from cue confusion during associative learning, but that discriminative coding is not a necessary consequence of associative…

To examine the relationship between words that pinpoint or help to define other words, an experiment was designed which reversed the procedure used in collecting the Michigan Restricted Associated Norms. The Michigan procedure used stimulus words to elicit responses. These responses were used as clue words to determine their power to stimulate the…

The fact that a significant amount of release from proactive interference was obtained with subjects in this study by shifting between differentially arousing categories of words suggested that rated word arousal is an encoding dimension in short-term memory. (CM)

Theorists have argued that the relatedness of words depends upon the degree to which they are associatively connected. Hierarchies of association have been established using two experimental methods: (1) the procedural method, and (2) the repetitions method. Since the results of the two methods have proven to be somewhat inconsistent, a study was…

Four experiments evaluate the effectiveness of a two-stage mnemonic procedure, the keyword method, for learning Spanish vocabulary. This method proved highly effective, yielding in one experiment a final test score of 88 percent correct for the keyword group compared to 28 percent for the control group. (Author/RC)

Results of a study using the keyword method of vocabulary learning showed increased comprehension of English vocabulary in context, as well as usage of that vocabulary in a novel context. (MKM)

Examines the implications of the metaphor of the vocabulary network. Takes a formal approach to the exploration of this metaphor by applying the principles of graph theory to word association data to compare the relative densities of the first language and second language lexical networks. (Author/VWL)

Implicitly repeating categories by presenting words not present in the original categorized list but logically members of previously studied categories significantly increased acquisition and retention relative to repeating category labels, repeating members of categories, and repeating neither labels nor members. The efficiency of repetition…

Four experiments were conducted on the interrelationship between semantic and syntactic structures. The former were specified by the method of restricted associations, and the latter by traditional grammatical analysis. In all experiments subjects were required to generate sentences from sets of given words. The generated sentences were studied as…

The idea was explored that different subjects may use qualitatively different encoding strategies with the same information presented within the same experimental situation. The premise was also studied that different strategies may be evoked by subtle differences in advance instructions or in the context of the task. (Author/MH)