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Paired-associate learning, animacy, and imageability effects in the survival advantage.
Stephanie A Kazanas1, Jeanette Altarriba2, Emily G O'Brien2
1Department of Counseling and Psychology, Tennessee Technological University, Box 5031, Cookeville, TN, 38505, USA. skazanas@tntech.edu.
Memory & Cognition
|January 10, 2020
Summary
Survival processing enhances paired-associate learning of new vocabulary, even for inanimate words. This survival advantage may stem from higher imageability, with inanimate words recalled better than animate words in this context.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Experimental Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- The survival-processing paradigm has shown benefits for memory recall.
- Animacy effects, where inanimate items are often better remembered than animate ones, have been observed in cued recall.
- Understanding these effects in second language acquisition is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of survival processing on paired-associate learning of foreign language vocabulary.
- To examine the role of animacy (animate vs. inanimate words) within the survival-processing paradigm.
- To explore the influence of imageability on learning within different processing contexts.
Main Methods:
- Participants learned new word translations under survival, study abroad, or intentional learning conditions.
- Three tasks were used: sentence-completion, matching, and picture-naming.
- Animacy of words and scenario imageability ratings were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Learning was significantly facilitated by the survival context compared to study abroad and intentional learning.
- Inanimate words were recalled better than animate words across all tasks (reverse animacy effect).
- Survival processing benefited learning for both animate and inanimate words, with imageability potentially explaining the survival advantage.
Conclusions:
- The survival-processing paradigm enhances paired-associate learning, likely due to increased imageability.
- A 'reverse animacy effect' was observed, where inanimate words were better remembered than animate words.
- These findings contribute to understanding memory, language learning, and the interplay of survival processing and animacy.
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