Individual Differences in Cognitive Ability and Type of Information Recalled

Amber Henslee

Date of Graduation

Spring 2001

Degree

Master of Science in Psychology

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

D. Wayne Mitchell

Abstract

This study investigated whether differences in intellectual abilities, specifically auditory-verbal and visual-spatial, were related to the amount and type of information recalled. The primary hypotheses were: a) individuals who display a high score on auditory-verbal ability would recall more information presented in that modality than information presented in a visual-spatial modality, b) individuals who display a high score on visual-spatial ability would recall more information when presented in that modality than information presented in an auditory-verbal modality. The secondary hypothesis was that females would have greater recall for auditory-verbal events and males would have greater recall for visual-spatial events. Adult participants viewed a video clip contianing both auditory-verbal and visual-spatial information. After viewing the stimuli, participants answered direct questions regarding what they saw and heard. Participants also completed the Vocabulary and Block Design subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition. These subtest scores provided a measure of auditory-verbal and visual-spatial abiltiy. In addition, an Auditory, Visual and Spatial Questionnaire (AVSQ) was developed to assess recall memory. Item analysis of the AVSQ resulted in removal of seven questions, with 17 questions remaining (seven for the Auditory factor, four for the Visual factor, and six for the Spatial factor). Correlational analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between the Visual factor score and Block Design scores, but not between the Spatial factor score and Block Design scores. There were no sex differences for the three AVSQ factors regarding recall. There was a test order effect for the Auditory factor, indicating that participants recalled more information if they were administered the intelligence subtests first.

Subject Categories

Psychology

Copyright

© Amber Henslee

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Dissertation/Thesis

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