Honors Senior Theses/Projects
Date of Award
6-30-2019
Type (DCMI Terms)
Text
Exit Requirement
Undergraduate Honors Thesis/Project
Department
Honors Program
Faculty Advisor
Melissa Cunningham
Honors Program Director
Dr. Gavin Keulks
Language
eng
Abstract
In the current study, the researcher aimed to examine the interaction between the independent variable of mnemonic modalities (visual images versus auditory rhythms) and working memory recall. Previous research indicates that information encodes better when presented with rhythm compared to a no-rhythm condition. This suggests that rhythm acts as a mnemonic, or a memory aid. However, across the numerous studies on rhythm and memory, rhythm’s effectiveness on memory retention has not been compared to the effectiveness of more commonly used mnemonics, such as images. The researcher hypothesized that the auditory rhythm condition would produce better working memory recall compared to the visual images condition. Participants for this study included 11 undergraduate students at Western Oregon University. In Learning Condition A, participants learned ten words in Estonian and their associated English meaning, paired with images related to each word shown. In Learning Condition B, participants learned the same list, paired with a rhythm. After a short distraction, participants in both conditions were asked to recall the English meanings. The difference between the two conditions was significant, t(10) = 3.184, p < .05, supporting visuals as the better mnemonic device, leading the researcher to fail to reject the null. Future research should include more participants.
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Recommended Citation
Hughes, Sarah, "The Effects of Rhythm Versus Visual Images on Working Memory Recall" (2019). Honors Senior Theses/Projects. 203.
https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/honors_theses/203
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This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).