Provided visual mediators, imagery instructions, and concreteness in paired associate learning

Ninety-six Ss in three treatment conditions were presented with two paired associate lists of thirty-two Ns. One group received instructions for imagery formation; one saw provided pictorial mediators; & the third received only task instructions. Concrete Ns with high imaginability were superior in facilitating learning, especially in the stimulus position. This effect was reduced in the provided-mediator group, but not eliminated. The relative advantage of the provided materials increased on abstract word lists. Self-generated mediators in this case were not as effective as those provided for them. Imagery can improve recall of abstract, as well as concrete, Ns; however, differences still exist, possibly due to differences in image retrieval rather than to differences in image effectiveness. A posttask test of mediator recall presented to the provided-mediator group showed no difference in recall due to pair type if the mediator was recalled, but there were differences in recall of the mediator related to concreteness. 3 Tables, 1 Figure. Modified HA