Psychology Report - memory for text Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Psychology Report - memory for text - Essay Example Results showed that the group in which context was given before reading the passage had performed better in comprehension and recall than the two groups in which no difference on recall was found and that comprehension and recall is significantly correlated when context was given prior to the introduction of material. The procedure is really quite simple. Â  First, you arrange things into different groups depending on their makeup. Â  Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. Â  If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step, otherwise you are pretty well set. Â  It is important not to overdo any particular endeavor. Â  That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. Â  In the short run this may not seem important, but complications from doing too many can easily arise. Â  A mistake can be expensive as well. Â  The manipulation of the appropriate mechanisms should be self-explanatory, and we need not dwell on it here. Â  At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Â  Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. Â  It is difficult to foresee any end to this task in the immediate future, but then one never can tell. (Bransford & Johnston, 1972, p. 722.) Bransford and Johnston used this passage in their study of comprehension and recall. Two groups of subjects listened to the passage, and were asked to understand and remember it. Â  One group was made to listen to this passage right away while the second group was informed beforehand that the passage was about washing clothes. Â  Bransford and Johnston found that people in the second group were much better at understanding and remembering the passage than those in the first group. Â  The first group had no context in which to incorporate the passage; the second group could readily integrate it into their prior knowledge of washing clothes. Prior knowledge is a factor in