Hansen, L., and Cottrell, D. (2009) An unbiased evaluation of modality preference using a "Morse Code" like recall task. In: Combined Abstracts of 2009 Australian Psychology Conferences. p. 23. From: 36th Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, 17-19 April 2009, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

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Abstract

Advocates of modality preference posit that individuals have a dominant sense, visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, and that when new material is presented in this preferred modality, learning is enhanced. Despite the widespread belief in this position there is relatively little supporting evidence. The current study implemented a "Morse Code" like recall task to examine whether visual and auditory recall is mediated by modality preference. When the perceptual discriminability of visual and auditory stimuli was controlled, there was no significant relationship between modality preference and visual and auditory performance. However, when the task involved a temporal discrimination between items to be recalled, recall for auditory stimuli was superior to recall for visual stimuli. In contrast, when the task involved a spatial discrimination, the opposite effect was observed. Furthermore, in each recall task, sequences with a discernable pattern were recalled more accurately than sequences with the absence of distinguishable patterns. It was concluded that the ability to recall new material depends on the presence of patterns in the stimulus stream and whether the material is presented via the most appropriate modality for the task of interest.

Item ID:	17535
Item Type:	Conference Item (Abstract / Summary)
ISBN:	978-0-909881-40-5
Related URLs:	Organisation
Date Deposited:	20 Jun 2012 03:09
FoR Codes:	17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170103 Educational Psychology @ 50% 17 PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES > 1701 Psychology > 170109 Personality, Abilities and Assessment @ 50%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences @ 100%
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