Effects of Knowledge of Semantic Roles on Recall of Written Prose

Abstract

Readers in an experimental treatment group were taught semantic roles, such as Agent, Object, and Instrument. Delayed recall of prose which was read after learning semantic roles was significantly better than delayed recall by a control group. Immediate recall was not significantly affected. The influence of semantic roles on delayed recall apparently occurred at the time of reading the prose rather than during recall; when the semantic roles were learned after the prose reading and before recall, then the recall of the experimental and control groups did not differ. The results were not related to the attitudes of the two groups toward the respective treatments.