The Functional Mind: A Comparative Study of Object Memory Recall on Functional Versus Fact Based Information
Citation
(2016) The Functional Mind: A Comparative Study of Object Memory
Recall on Functional Versus Fact Based Information, no. 47.
Abstract
Evolutionary studies such as Bell, Röer and Buchner (2014) argue functional information
about objects to be easier to recall than other forms of information. Based on these
discoveries, this study investigated the effect of functional and factual information on the
object recall ability of memory. A memory task was applied in which participants were asked
to recall information, either function or a fact, of ambiguous objects in two different tasks.
The findings in the 'information task' supported previous research such as that of Bell, Röer
and Buchner (2014), in which functional information was found to be easier to recall.
However, due to methodological issues, the 'name task' found a non-significant difference
between the two conditions. Based on the results of the 'Information task', this dissertation
argues information about function to significantly improve memory recall and discusses the
implications of that knowledge.