A detailed examination of mediation in PA learning

This paper reports a single experiment in which verbal and imaginal mediators were compared in paired-associate learning. Pair concreteness and delay of recall (immediate vs 1-week delay) were also manipulated. The dependent variables included the latencies of mediator discovery and mediator production, response recall, mediator recall, and recall latency. A variety of differences between verbal and imaginal codes were found in the dependent measures. In addition, a profound effect of immediate recall on subsequent recall was discovered. The results are discussed in terms of the differences between the two modalities of memory.