CYBERNETIC CONTROL OF MEMORY WHILE READING CONNECTED DISCOURSE

Described a model of reading in which Ss enter a minimal set of stimuli into memory which govern subsequent feedback control, and allow passage organization to act as a surrogate storage for easily retrieved verbal units. The model was tested in an analysis of variance using 24 college-age females. The Ss were given the attributes of a verbal concept and told to find its name in a reading passage, but they were not instructed to learn the materials. The group which read the sentences organized by concept name retained more attributes than the group which read the same sentences organized by attribute. The latter group retained more names. It was thus possible to program memory inputs simply by rearranging the sentences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.