A comparison between the effects of functional versus factual information on memory for tools.
Citation
(2016) A comparison between the effects of functional versus factual information on memory for tools., no. 52.
Abstract
This project's aim was to compare the effects of thinking about functional information versus
factual information on memory recall. 51 participants were given three tasks in which they
were shown 44 images of ambiguous tools. In the first task participants were asked to rate
whether they recognised both the tool and its function. In the second task participants were
again shown the images accompanied by either two functional options or two factual options.
They then were asked to choose which option they thought was correct after which they were
told if they were correct or not. In the final task participants were again shown the images and
were asked to input any information they could recall about the information shown. The
results showed that humans have a higher recall hit rate when thinking about the function of a
tool compared to a fact.