Symbolic forms can be mnemonics for recall

Abstract

Form symbolism using squares and circles can aid recall. In Experiment 1, subjects saw 20 words, each presented in a circle or a square. Words like SOFT and MOTHER were presented in circles in the "congruent" condition, whereas the same words were presented in squares in the "incongruent" condition, Two experiments revealed that words in the congruent condition were more likely to be recalled, A comparison of the conditions with a baseline condition, in which 20 listed words were not closely related to either of the shapes, suggests that the effect was more likely due to facilitation produced by the congruent condition than to inhibition from the incongruent condition, Here we will study whether symbolic visual forms can influence memory, We use the phrase form symbolism for connections between simple forms, such as a circle or a square, and quite abstract referents, As a symbol, a circle can be paired with referents such as "unending" or "soft." Similarly, a square may be linked with "stable" or "hard," In this connection, some authors have used the terms nonverbal metaphor (Hausman, 1989) and physiognomic perception (Lindauer, 1991), However, to call a symbol a metaphor is to suggest that metaphor is the basis for symbolism-certainly a controversial claim. Also, the term physiognomic perception suggests that symbols are based on expression (facial expression, in particular, if the term physiognomy is taken literally), which may be too restrictive, We will choose the less theoryladen termform symbolism, A circle, for example, can readily symbolize the "universe" or "contentment." As an illustration, Irving Berlin classified songs into "round" songs and "square" songs, to distinguish ones that were what he termed "natural" from ones he deemed "forced effects," respectively (Bergreen, 1990, p. 386).Several studies on form symbolism have focused on linear forms. They have shown that people often match words like QUIET and SERENE with a horizontal line rather than with a crooked line (Kreitler & Kreitler, 1972;Leijonhielm, 1967;Schlesinger, 1980;Wallach & Kogan, 1965;Werner & Kaplan, 1963;Winner, 1982). Liu and Kennedy (1993) inquired about the role of symbolism in cognitive tasks. We described a "matching" experiment, and we showed that symbolic relations between words and shapes affect one kind of recall performance. Here we report two new experiments on recall.In Liu and Kennedy's (1993) matching experiment, the task was to match 20 word pairs (e.g., MOTHER and FATHER) with two geometric shapes (a circle and aWe would like to thank C. M, Macleod and B. Challis for their comments on an early version of this paper, Correspondence should be addressed to C. H. Liu or 1. M, Kennedy, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Scarborough, ON, Canada MIC lA4, square). The word pairs used in the Experiment and the levels of agreement found are shown in Table 1, with the word matched with "circle" on the left of each pair. Agreement ranged from 100% (SOFT-HARD) to chance (51% on DEEP-SHALLOW).In Liu and Kennedy's ...

Visual perception of markings

“…Some of these may also be the nonarbitrary consequence of a universal, or near-universal, form symbolism (Liu & Kennedy, 1994). Other meanings can accrue through idiosyncratic associations (e.g., the wallpaper pattern that evokes one's childhood) or intentionally (e.g., logos, monograms, signatures, coats-of-arms, seals, religious and cabalistic markings, etc.).…”