Situation models, propositions, and the fan effect

Abstract

According to theories of language comprehension, people can construct multiple levels of representation: the surface form, the propositional text base, and the situation model. In this study, I looked at how the referential nature of memory probes affects the experience of retrieval interference. All the subjects memorized sentences about objects in locations (e.g., "The potted palm is in the hotel"). When memory probes were sentences and, therefore, referential and most closely associated with the situation model level, no interference was observed during retrieval for information that could be integrated into a common situation model. In contrast, interference was observed in such cases when the memory probes were concept pairs (POTTED PALM-HOTEL) and hence not directly referential. This is interpreted to mean that nonreferential memory probes involve surface form and text base representations more than do referential sentence probes.

Walking through doorways causes forgetting: Environmental integration

“…The present research is also consistent with a range of findings in spatial cognition that show the importance of spatial regions. For example, spatial regions can be used to integrate and segregate information in long-term memory, thereby influencing the pattern of retrieval interference (e.g., Radvansky, 1999Radvansky, , 2005Radvansky, Spieler, & Zacks, 1993;Radvansky & Zacks, 1991) and the retrieval of information from a mental map (e.g., Bower & Rinck, 2001;McNamara, 1986;Thorndyke, 1981). In research on narrative comprehension, memory for objects declines when there has been a shift in location (e.g., Curiel & Radvansky, 2002;Glenberg et al, 1987;Morrow, Greenspan, & Bower, 1987;Radvansky & Copeland, 2010;Rinck & Bower, 1995).…”

Spatial directions and situation model organization

“…This pattern of a fan effect for multiple-situation, but not single-situation conditions is well established (Radvansky, 1999a(Radvansky, , 1999b(Radvansky, , 2005. It occurs despite instructions to organize by other means (Radvansky, 1998)-with definite or indefinite articles (e.g., the vs. a/an) (Radvansky et al, 1993), when the location serves as either the sentence subject or predicate (e.g., "the potted palm is in the hotel" vs. "in the hotel is the potted palm"; Radvansky & Zacks, 1991), with both text and picture stimuli (Radvansky & Copeland, 2006b), and in both younger and older adults (Radvansky, Zacks, & Hasher, 1996, 2005. It is not strictly a spatial effect, in that it has also been observed with ownership (Radvansky, Wyer, Curiel, & Lutz, 1997) and temporal relations (Radvansky, Zwaan, Federico, & Franklin, 1998).…”

Using prior knowledge to minimize interference when learning large amounts of information

“…These accounts have recently been contrasted (Sohn, Anderson, Reder, & Goode, 2004), with support provided for the propositional network account (but see Radvansky, 2005). However, it is not clear how this propositional network account could accommodate the findings of Van Overschelde and Healy (2001), including the surprising decrease in performance across rounds for the case involving low prior knowledge.…”