Imagery as a Facilitator of Semantic Integration

The relationship between processing style (either auditory or visual) and sentence and imagery strategies was investigated with a sample of 80 second-grade children. Assignment to auditory- and visual-processor groups was based on subjects' recall of 16 pictograph sequences, four of which included visual interference and four of which included auditory interference. An alternate processing task was also administered. Auditory and visual processors were then divided into four groups: imagery strategy, sentence strategy, combination strategy, and control. In the imagery condition, the child was shown a "cartoon" slide of what the pictograph sequence meant and was instructed to imagine a similar cartoon for each subsequent sequence. The sentence strategy group was instructed to read the pictures as if they were a sentence. The combined strategy group was instructed to read the pictographs as if they were a sentence and to imagine a cartoon of what they meant. Finally, the control group was told to try hard to remember the pictures. The number of articles correctly inserted and the verb inflections used both while reading the sequences and during recall were recorded as direct measures of strategy use. The sentence strategy was effective for both groups, while the imagery strategy was effective for auditory processors only. (The usefulness of an organizational strategy for semantic integration is discussed.) (RH)