Understanding and Remembering Complex Prose Augmented by Analogic and Pictorial Illustration

Abstract

An experiment compared readers' use of analogic and pictorial illustrations for understanding and remembering complex instructional text. High school students ( N = 102) read procedural texts under six analogic and pictorial illustration conditions and attempted to apply the texts' content in an applied performance task. Two weeks later students were evaluated on their attempts to perform the same task from memory. Pictures proved helpful for both immediate performance and delayed performance. Analogy was helpful for delayed performance but only slightly more helpful on immediate performance. Results are discussed in terms of apparent functions of analogies and pictures.