Face-name mediated learning and long-term retention: the role of images and imagery processes

Subjects were presented with videotapes wherein 24 students introduced themselves for 20 s while the subjects were given image mediators as learning aids. After initial recall and before recall after 1 week (Experiment 1) or 3 weeks (Experiment 2), subjects rated whether they thought they did (session 1) or would (session 2) remember each name and rated the clarity of the mental images of the faces, with the names used as cues. The image clarity of faces was significantly related to long-term retention of names, the clarity of images decreased with time, and the process of making ratings and reconstructing mental images of faces and face-name connections greatly facilitated long-term retention of names. The results are discussed in the context of a multiphase processing model.