This effect has been shown to occur in recognition memory tasks, where items studied as pictures are better remembered than items studied as words, even when targets are presented as words during the test phase. If items are encoded during a semantic task, performance should be higher for a memory test that relies on concepts related to the items for retrieval than a test that relies on perceptual features. TAP accounts for picture superiority by an interaction of encoding and retrieval. Greater overlap of processing at study and test result in increased performance. Weldon and Roediger-transfer appropriate processing theories Picture superiority results from superior encoding for pictures over words, which facilitates greater recollection of pictures. Levels of processing theory apply when words and pictures are compared under semantic study instructions (rate the pleasantness of each item), recall is very similar for pictures and words, as both were encoded at deeper levels. Pictures are also believed to assess meaning more directly than words. In experiments when similarity among pictures was high, no picture superiority effect was present. Pictures are perceptually more distinct from one another than are words, thus increasing their chance for retrieval. Pictures hold two encoding advantages over words. Pictures are likely to generate a verbal label, whereas words are not likely to generate image labels. Picture stimuli have an advantage over word stimuli because they are dually encoded they generate a verbal and image code, whereas word stimuli only generate a verbal code.

Related theories Paivio – Dual coding theory It is also relevant to advertising and user interface design. In psychology, the effect has implications for salience in attribution theory as well as the availability heuristic. Concrete concepts presented as pictures are encoded into both systems however, abstract concepts are recorded only verbally.

According to dual-coding theory (1971, 1986), memory exists either (or both) verbally or through imagery. Another explanation of the higher recall in picture superiority is the higher familiarity or frequency of pictured objects (Asch & Ebenholtz, 1962). Paivio claims that pictures have advantages over words with regards to coding and retrieval of stored memory because pictures are coded more easily and can be retrieved from symbolic mode, while the dual coding process using words is more difficult for both coding and retrieval. 2.3 Weldon and Roediger-transfer appropriate processing theoriesĪllan Paivio's dual-coding theory is a basis of picture superiority effect.

Pictorial mark