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Cognitive Structures in Human Story Comprehension and Memory.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Cognitive Structures in Human Story Comprehension and Memory.
Authors: Thorndyke, Perry W., Rand Corp., Santa Monica, CA.
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 184
Publication Date: 1975
Report Number: P-5513
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Association (Psychology), Cognitive Processes, Comprehension, Content Area Reading, Doctoral Dissertations, Memory, Narration, Reading Comprehension, Recall (Psychology), Short Stories
Abstract: This research examines the effects of structure and content variables on memory and comprehension of prose passages. A process model for the comprehension of stories is proposed which assumes that stories are encoded in a hierarchical organizational framework which represents the abstract structural relationships of the plot. The implications of the model for the quality and characteristics of subjects' memory for stories were tested in a series of experiments using undergraduate college students. The study revealed that: (1) recall of a story was a function of the amount of inherent plot structure in the story; (2) story summarizations from memory tended to emphasize general structural characteristics rather than specific content; (3) structure and content manipulations significantly influenced recall; and (4) false recognition rates for implicit inferences from a story were a function of the plausibility of the inferences and their roles as organizing and integrating devices for other information in the story. (Author/LL)
Notes: Reprint of author's dissertation, Stanford University
Journal Code: RIEOCT1976
Entry Date: 1976
Accession Number: ED123587
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:This research examines the effects of structure and content variables on memory and comprehension of prose passages. A process model for the comprehension of stories is proposed which assumes that stories are encoded in a hierarchical organizational framework which represents the abstract structural relationships of the plot. The implications of the model for the quality and characteristics of subjects' memory for stories were tested in a series of experiments using undergraduate college students. The study revealed that: (1) recall of a story was a function of the amount of inherent plot structure in the story; (2) story summarizations from memory tended to emphasize general structural characteristics rather than specific content; (3) structure and content manipulations significantly influenced recall; and (4) false recognition rates for implicit inferences from a story were a function of the plausibility of the inferences and their roles as organizing and integrating devices for other information in the story. (Author/LL)