Why maps improve memory for text: The influence of structural information on working memory operations

A topographical map approach to representing treatment efficacy: a focus on positive psychology interventions

A recent meta-analysis by Bolier et al. indicated that positive psychology interventions have overall small to moderate effects on well-being, but results were quite heterogeneous across intervention trials. Such meta-analytic research helps condense information on the efficacy of a broad psychosocial intervention by averaging across many effects; however, such global averages may provide limited navigational guidance for selecting among specific interventions. Here, we introduce a novel method for displaying qualitative and quantitative information on the efficacy of interventions using a topographical map approach. As an initial prototype for demonstrating this method, we mapped 50 positive psychology interventions targeting well-being (as captured in the Bolier et al. [2013] meta-analysis, [Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC Public Health, 13, 83]). Each intervention domain/subdomain was mapped according to its average effect size (indexed by vertical elevation), number of studies providing effect sizes (indexed by horizontal area), and therapist/client burden (indexed by shading). The geographical placement of intervention domains/subdomains was determined by their conceptual proximity, allowing viewers to gauge the general conceptual "direction" in which promising intervention effects can be found. The resulting graphical displays revealed several prominent features of the well-being intervention "landscape," such as more strongly and uniformly positive effects of future-focused interventions (including, goal-pursuit and optimism training) compared to past/present-focused ones.

Is the recall of verbal-spatial information from working memory affected by symptoms of ADHD?

OJECTIVE: The Kulhavy model for text learning using organized spatial displays proposes that learning will be increased when participants view visual images prior to related text. In contrast to previous studies, this study also included students who exhibited symptoms of ADHD.

METHOD

Participants were presented with either a map-text or text-map condition.

RESULTS

The map-text condition led to a significantly higher performance than the text-map condition, overall. However, students who endorsed more symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity scored more poorly when asked to recall text facts, text features, and map features and were less able to correctly place map features on a reconstructed map than were students who endorsed fewer symptoms.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study support the Kulhavy model for typical students; however, the benefit of viewing a display prior to text was not seen for students with ADHD symptoms, thus supporting previous studies that have demonstrated that ADHD appears to negatively affect operations that occur in working memory.

From Redlining to Benevolent Societies: The Emancipatory Power of Spatial Thinking

This study highlights the power of place, and reconceptualizes geography education as integral to the larger project of teaching for democratic citizenship. Using an interactive web platform, the researchers asked 29 seventh grade girls to research and map significant cultural and historical places associated with an ethnic group, or women, in the city of Seattle. The students worked in teams and commented frequently on each other's contributions. Adopting a participatory action research method, the researchers studied the multiple ways in which a greater understanding of spatial production, such as processes of exclusion and inclusion, or mapping and counter-mapping, can give students the knowledge and will to challenge prevailing norms about the "naturalness" of a segregated urban landscape, or the inequitable allocation of resources. This approach follows recent feminist, anti-racist, and internationalist articulations of citizenship education, which advocate a social justice or emancipatory component to teaching and learning.

Representational flexibility and specificity following spatial descriptions of real-world environments

Current theories are mixed with regard to the nature of mental representations following spatial description reading. Whereas some findings argue that individuals' representations are invariant following text-based, map-based, or first-person experience, other studies have suggested that representations can also exhibit considerable flexibility. In the current project we investigated the influences of spatial description perspectives and depictions on the nature of mental representations. In Experiment 1, participants exhibited more flexibility following survey, compared to route, spatial descriptions. With extended study time, though, flexibility following route descriptions increased. In Experiment 2, complementary maps further enhanced flexibility for route-based descriptions. Interestingly, increased exposure to these maps actually reduced flexibility following survey descriptions. These results demonstrate that the nature of our spatial mental representations depends upon a variety of factors; delineating these factors is critical for resolving debates concerning the malleable and invariant characteristics of spatial memory.

Map Edges: Focal Points for Facilitating Text Recall

In two experiments undergraduate students were shown maps with features located either along an edge or within the interior of the map. Next, participants were asked to read a related text. Thereafter, they were asked to recall as much of the text information as possible and to reconstruct the map. In both experiments, the results consistently showed that students recall significantly more information when features are located along the edges of the maps. These findings will help give teachers and designers of classroom displays a better understanding of how to create maps that will facilitate the recall of related information. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Role of Mimeticism and Spatiality in Textual Recall

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the role of map spatiality and icon mimeticism in facilitating text recall. A secondary goal was to explore an assumption of the conjoint retention hypothesis, that the visuospatial component of working memory is involved in retrieving map information. We manipulated display conditions to evaluate the separate and combined effects of map spatiality and icon mimeticism on text recall. We also utilized a concurrent task paradigm to assess both the recognition of spatial displays and the recall of map feature information. The results of all four experiments point to the mimeticism of icons as the key attribute of maps for facilitating recall, rather than the spatial layout of the map when visual displays and text are presented simultaneously during encoding. We also found no evidence indicating that maps are processed in a more spatial manner than are lists. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Utilization of Illustrations during Learning of Science Textbook Passages among Low- and High-Ability Children

Effects of illustrations on learning authentic textbook materials were studied among 10-year-old elementary school children of high and low intellectual ability. Experiment 1 showed that the presence of illustrations improved learning of illustrated text content, but not that of nonillustrated text content. Comprehension scores were improved by the presence of illustrations for high-ability children, but not for low-ability children. In Experiment 2, children's eye movements were measured during learning of illustrated textbook passages to study how children divide their attention between text and illustrations. The results suggest that learning is heavily driven by the text and that children inspect illustrations only minimally. High-ability students were more strategic in processing in the sense that they spent relatively more time on pertinent segments of text and illustrations. It is concluded that the learning of illustrated science textbook materials involves requirements that may be more readily met by more intellectually capable students. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Accessing Prior Knowledge to Remember Text: A Comparison of Advance Organizers and Maps

Two theories, schema and dual coding, and the conjoint retention model were contrasted to explain the role of geographic familiarity and prior knowledge in map-passage retention. One hundred, eighty-six college students listened to a passage taking place in either a familiar or unfamiliar geographic domain and viewed either a map or no map of either of the two geographic areas. One-third of each group received either a general or specific advance organizer of the passage topic, or no organizer at all. Results revealed that maps function to bridge what learners already know about an area and what they need to remember from a passage. However, prior knowledge of geography is activated by the geographic propositions contained in a passage, with or without a map. Thus, maps serve a mnemonic function of imagery, but learners' prior knowledge of the geography of the map's space mediates the value of the map. Learners are able to generate an image of the map themselves if there are locational markers in the passage, and the geography of those markers are familiar. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.