Hansen, Louise, and Cottrell, David (2012) An evaluation of modality preference using a 'Morse Code' recall task. Journal of Experimental Education, 81 (1). pp. 123-137.

PDF (Published Version) - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only

 

7

5

Abstract

Advocates of modality preference posit that individuals have a dominant sense and that when new material is presented in this preferred modality learning is enhanced. Despite the widespread belief in this position there is little supporting evidence. The current study implemented a Morse code like recall task to examine whether visual and auditory recall is moderated 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 recall. The nature of the recall task did however effect performance, when the task involved a temporal discrimination between the to be recalled items, recall for auditory stimuli was superior to that for visual stimuli. In contrast, when the task involved a spatial discrimination, the opposite effect was observed. Unsurprisingly, in each recall task, sequences with a discernible pattern were recalled more accurately than sequences that lacked any obvious pattern. It was concluded that the ability to recall simple material is determined more by the type of stimulus than the preferences of the individual.

Actions (Repository Staff Only)

Item Control Page