EFFECTS OF BIZARRE IMAGERY ON MEMORY AS A FUNCTION OF COGNITIVE MATURITY

Abstract

"In comparing one image to another, one runs the risk of losing participation in its individuality." Bachelard, 1971, pg.53.;A total of four experiments tested subjects at different levels of cognitive maturity (defined by age or IQ) on cued or free recall for Normal (N), Low Bizarre (LB), and Highly Bizarre (HB) line-drawn interactive pictures of object pairs.;Experiment I compared high functioning (mean IQ = 68.79) and low functioning (mean IQ = 30.57) retarded adults on their ability to recall objects depicted in the N, LB, or HB conditions. The objects were first presented individually, then in an interaction condition (e.g., N condition, matches lighting a pipe; LB condition, a pipe in a frying pan; HB condition, a fish smoking a pipe). The subjects were then told that one object (the stimulus member of the pair) would be presented and that they would later be asked to recall the object (the response member of the pair) that went with it. The high functioning subjects performed equally well on this paired-associated learning (PAL) task in all three conditions. In contrast the low functioning subjects had significantly fewer recalls for the response objects in the LB and HB condition.;Experiment II used a similar PAL task with children. When younger children (mean age 3 years, 6 months) were compared with older children (mean age 4 years, 7 months), the older children performed in a manner similar to the high-functioning retarded adults. The older children did equally well recalling the response items in all three conditions. The younger children performed in a manner similar to the low-functioning retarded adult subjects in that they also had significantly fewer recalls for objects in the LB and HB condition.;In addition to the above, two brief free recall experiments (Experiments III and IV) were conducted to test the ability of both children (mean age 4 years, 3 1/2 months) and normal adults to recall objects depicted in the three interaction conditions (N, LB, HB) when the material was rapidly presented (15 interaction pictures of two objects each, shown in a period of 15 seconds, with the subjects exposed to each picture for .3('ths) of a second), with a .7('ths) of a second interval. The results show that the adults recalled significantly more objects in the HB and LB condition as compared to the N condition. In contrast there was no significant difference in performance across conditions for the children.