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Recognition memory for sentences as a function of concreteness/abstractness and affirmation/negation
Author(s) -
Smith C. D.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1981.tb02172.x
Subject(s) - concreteness , psychology , negation , linguistics , recognition memory , function (biology) , cognitive psychology , cognition , philosophy , neuroscience , evolutionary biology , biology
It was found that recognition memory for spoken sentences was superior when sentences were concrete than when they were abstract, provided that the sentences were affirmative. With negative sentences, however, the reverse occurred: performance was worse when the sentences were concrete than when they were abstract. Affirmative abstract sentences and negative abstract sentences were equally well recognized, whereas, for concrete sentences, negation severely impaired recognition memory. The implications of these findings for theories of mental imagery and language processing are discussed.