Unlike desktop computers, reading in virtual reality allows the reader and the information to cohabit in the three-dimensional space. However, virtual reality typography rarely exploits the new affordances three-dimensionality offers. This study addressed the need to understand the contributions of spatially distributed layouts on expository text…

The present research investigated whether test-enhanced learning can be used to promote transfer. More specifically, 4 experiments examined how repeated testing and repeated studying affected retention and transfer of facts and concepts. Subjects studied prose passages and then either repeatedly restudied or took tests on the material. One week…

Although research has shown that older adults are negatively affected by aging stereotypes, relatively few studies have attempted to identify those older adults who may be especially susceptible to these effects. The current research takes steps toward identifying older adults most susceptible to the effects of stereotype threat and investigates…

Recent theories have posited that the hippocampus and thalamus serve distinct, yet related, roles in episodic memory. Whereas the hippocampus has been implicated in long-term memory encoding and storage, the thalamus, as a whole, has been implicated in the selection of items for subsequent encoding and the use of retrieval strategies. However,…

Organizational form significantly affected learning and retention in this name-attribute organizational study. Learning condition affected criterion performance, memory and error rates. An analysis of critical words (names, attributes, values) recalled indicated that hierarchical position influenced word memorability. (Author/MV)

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)

Previous work on recalling prose material can be criticized for its limited use of quantitative analysis and for neglecting the theoretical implications of the distinctions between verbatim and other forms of recall. Nine specially written passages used clauses and actual words to split reproduced material into verbatim, non-verbatim and intrusive…

Differences in discourse type were expected to result in differences in processing text. The more organized discourse types of comparison, problem/solution, and causation were predicted to yield superior recall of information than a collection of descriptions about a topic. Results from two studies supported this prediction. (Author/BW)

Organization theory emphasizes groupings of items on the basis of a variety of characteristics, and the role of the learner as an active processor or encoder of information. Research on organization theory as it is applied to memory and recall of prose is reviewed here. (BW)

Retrieval and response criterion explanations of the effects of text organization on memory were tested in four experiments. More target information was freely recalled when it was high than when low in content structure. Retrieval cues reduced recall differences between information high and low in the structure. (Author/RD)

The effects of verbal and pictorial organizing material on comprehension of paragraphs was investigated with second- and fifth-graders. Results suggest that knowledge of the interrelationships among elements is important, if not essential, for the comprehension of prose material. (Author/RC)

The hypothesis that reorganizing written material while taking notes would aid free recall was evaluated in two experiments with high school juniors. Results are discussed in terms of the encoding variability hypothesis which predicts that reorganizing material aids recall. (RC)