Award Date

12-15-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education

First Committee Member

Alice Corkill

Second Committee Member

Daniel Wright

Third Committee Member

Lisa Bendixen

Fourth Committee Member

David Copeland

Number of Pages

106

Abstract

The working memory system is responsible for maintaining, manipulating, and transferring information into long-term memory, yet it operates under strict capacity limitations. Dual coding theory proposes that information can be encoded both verbally and visually, allowing learners to distribute cognitive load across complementary representational systems. Leveraging dual coding may therefore enhance recall, particularly for noun-based stimuli, though there is little to no research exploring this possibility. In the present study, 529 adults completed a forward digit span task and pre-test and post-test free recall tasks involving concrete, abstract, and mixed nouns. Participants were assigned to one of four instruction groups that provided concrete imagery prompts, abstract imagery prompts, both, or no imagery prompts. Digit span was evaluated as a covariate for verbal memory ability, but was removed after proving nonsignificant. Mixed-model analyses revealed significant improvements over time for concrete and abstract nouns, but no significant differences among instruction groups, and no improvement for mixed nouns. These findings suggest that brief instructional prompts may be insufficient to reliably activate dual coding processes in short-term recall contexts.

Keywords

Dual coding; Learning strategies; Working memory

Disciplines

Education | Educational Psychology | Psychology

File Format

PDF

File Size

1707 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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