Does the Pictorial Superiority Effect in fact allow for higher recognition of concepts?

Many people are unable to find effective ways to retain information, especially if they have trouble with memorization. The Pictorial Superiority Effect states that individuals are more likely to be able to recall a concept if it is presented in pictures as opposed to words. Finding the truth in this effect could help create more effective methods of study for those who regularly struggle. This could be done by adjusting their study techniques and incorporating more visual elements.

Bonnie Nolan AP Statistics 5/29/2013 School year: 2012-2013

The Pictorial Superiority Effect explains the phenomenon that many people experience when they are studying; concepts presented in pictures tend to be relatively easier to recall than concepts presented in words. The best way this can be explained by experts is that, while words are in fact very important in everyday life, they take a bit more time for the brain to be able to process when they are presented and thus they are harder to recall. On the other hand, pictures represent both the verbal and visual ways that our brain interprets concepts, which can also be explained by the Dual Coding Theory proposed by Allan Paivio (McBride). Another way to think about this concept is through everyday life. Growing up many of us learned to read using picture books as a way to stimulate learning. The average child is usually able to recognize images and faces long before being able to read, and many begin to read by recognizing how a word looks visually rather than actually knowing the specific letters that make it up. This can be shown when children are able to recognize certain logos that have words because they also present some sort of visual aid. This concept is important to all people who strive to retain essential information and is even more valuable for those who struggle to do so when using verbal communication (written or spoken). The alternative hypothesis being presented in this report serves to support that when it comes to memorization, if pictures are presented, they will tend to transfer information better than information presented in words. The sample taken for this investigation was a simple random sample chosen from a population of AGS Seniors and Juniors, half the sample came from the senior population and half from the junior population so to avoid bias. Choosing the subjects was done by numbering a list of both the juniors (88 students) and seniors (98 students) and then using a random number generator to pull out ten from each group to create a sample size of 20. One reason this may not

be representative of the entire public is that it was students who were chosen. There are many people in the United States who are illiterate even at a much older age, however they are not represented in this study because all of the subjects used were in fact able to read. Also, older generations were not represented, so we would be unable to see how the Pictorial Superiority Effect differs in age groups. But, as far as showing the effect it has on literate young adults within the AGS population, a sample of those juniors and seniors is effective. After the sample was collected, a matched pairs t-test was performed on the data. This test helped avoid bias for those who are just simply better at memorizing any form of information than others. A .05 level of significance was used in the analysis of this data because, it is not a life dependent medical situation so we can afford to be a bit stricter with our margin of error. Appendix 7 shows the written calculations of the test used on the data collected. First, all conditions were checked and verified to be correct, this included creating a normal quantile plot to verify that the data was relatively normal so that an approximate normal distribution model could be used. Next, a difference was found between the number of correct words recalled minus the number of correct pictures recalled for each person and the mean and standard deviation for all 20 were calculated. The null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis were then stated based on the definition that d is the true population mean difference in the number of correct words recalled and the number of correct pictures recalled for AGS seniors and juniors. Next, the mean and standard deviation were plugged into the equation that finds t and a p value was calculated, which is the probability that the sample mean could have occurred given the null hypothesis was true. The resulting p value ended up being 3.3287E-5 which was far below the alpha level of .05.

So in conclusion, the claim that the true population mean difference in number of correct words recalled and number of correct pictures recalled is zero was rejected. This conclusion gives support to the Pictorial Superiority Effect. Through the analysis of this data it was possible to observe the patterns that occurred within the random sampling, such as the d range being from 1 to -6 and the fact that almost everyone was able to recall pictures better than words. The purpose of this analysis was to try to support that memorization is stronger when using pictures rather than words. We could have found out that the difference was not significant enough to support the theory at all, however this was not the case. A study that involved two different treatments was imposed on a simple random sample. Individuals viewed a list of 15 words (A3) then were asked to write down as many as they remembered. Next they were asked to view a list of 15 images (A4) then were asked to write down the names of as many as they remembered. 30 seconds were given to view the concepts and 30 seconds to write down the answers. Certain considerations were taken into account for the occasional difference in the name of a picture written down, for example there was a picture of a needle, needle shot and medicine were all counted as correct answers. A matched pairs T-test was done in order to analyze the data and reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis, that the true population mean difference in the number words remembered minus the number of pictures remembered among subjects is equal to zero. Through this experiment we cannot fully prove that using images is a better method of memorization than words alone, we can only support that there was a significantly higher recollection level with pictures than with words. This conclusion however is just as important though we cannot fully prove the Pictorial Superiority Effect.

As far as anything in the experiment that could have created bias, there were a few minor inconsistencies during testing sessions. For example, some subjects were tested in groups in order to be able to get all the data faster in the limited amount of time. In addition, some subjects were tested in areas that were a little noisier than others which could have effected their concentration a bit. Despite these inconsistencies, the amount of error within this experiment should be fairly low, therefore the reader is fair to make his or her own opinion about the Pictorial Superiority Effect after reading the results of this experiment.

Works Cited Ahern, Catherine. "Coming to Terms with the Pictorial Superiority Effect." Nitpicker's Nook. N.p., 3 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 May 2013. <www.nitpickersnook.com/2011/10/03/coming-to-termswith-the-pictorial-superiority-effect/>. Kateb A, Pegna AJ, Michel CM, Landis T, and Annoni JM. "Dynamics of Brain Activation during an Explicit Word and Image Recognition Task: An Electrophysiological Study." Diss. 2002. Abstract. (n.d.): n. pag. Abstract. US NAtional Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Web. <www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12002350>. McBride, Dawn M. Research on Memory for Pictures and Words. Working paper. Web. <www.my.ilstu.edu/~dmmcbri/pics.html>. Oates, Joyce M., and Lynne M. Reder. "Memory for Pictures: Sometimes a Picture Is Not worth a Single Word." Web. <www.memory.psy.cmu.edu/publications/10Oates_Reder.pdf >.