Modality Effect: What It Is And How It Explains Memorization
If we talk about the modality effect, it is very likely that few people know what we are referring to On the other hand, if we asked what is easier to remember, a paragraph of text or an image that someone is describing orally, it is quite likely that people would answer the second option.
The modality effect is a phenomenon that occurs when the information presented involves two types of stimulation pathways, influencing its ability to be remembered. This phenomenon has its importance in the educational field, an aspect that we are going to explain in this article.
In experimental psychology, the modality effect is a phenomenon that occurs when, Depending on how certain information is presented, it is better remembered In essence, it consists of the fact that information is better remembered when it is presented in the form of an image and, in turn, is described orally, as opposed to if the same image is presented but accompanied by written text.
Normally this phenomenon occurs in situations in which certain content has to be learned, that is, This is a very recurrent effect in educational and student contexts s.
For example, according to the model behind this effect, if a student is preparing for exams with images and saying out loud explanations of what he is reviewing or simply saying what he is observing, he is more likely to remember during the exam. more content than if you limit yourself to seeing those same images and mentally reading the text that accompanies them.
Psychological models that explain it
One of the models that has been used to explain this phenomenon is that of Baddeley and Hitch’s cognitive load theory According to this theory, the modality effect would occur due to the characteristics of working memory. This type of memory, according to Baddeley’s model, is made up of two systems that have a limited capacity: the phonological loop and the visuospatial agenda.
The phonological loop, according to Baddeley and Hitch’s model, would be responsible for processing the information that is given auditorily. On the other hand, the visuospatial agenda is responsible for processing visual information, such as images, and spatial information, such as the location of a certain object.
This multicomponent model indicates that auditory and visuospatial information are processed separately in these two systems Because of this, learning solely visuospatially (for example, by reading or viewing images) is more likely to cause the system responsible for this type of information (the phonological loop) to become overloaded.
On the other hand, if the information comes through two routes, visuospatial and auditory, both systems will share approximately the same cognitive load, which will mean that both systems are not so overwhelmed in capacity and that learning is more viable.
The modality effect would occur when one of the systems, because it is the only one that is making the effort during learning, does not have sufficient capacity to deal with the information that must be learned, compared to when it is given in advance. in such a way that it involves two systems.
The classic effect
The classic modality effect has been observed by seeing how people were able to remember words that were presented either verbally or spoken. Regardless of whether the subject then had to remember the words in the same order as he had read or heard them, or whether he had to remember them randomly, the modality effect occurred.
The modality effect is closely related to two other memory-related effects On the one hand, we have the recency effect, which is that the last words or last information in a set are more easily remembered than the previous one. The other effect, suffix effect, is that if an item with another modality occurs in a list of items, it is better remembered.
Once we have seen what this effect consists of and the models that try to explain it, a couple of notes can be made and related to the study.
Given that information that is presented visually and auditorily simultaneously seems to be remembered more easily than that which is simply read or “learned” through visual means only, it is worth mentioning some aspects that are useful in the educational field, in addition to making a couple of indications of how the content should be given in the classroom to strengthen meaningful learning.
First of all, The narrated explanation of a certain topic is almost more important than the images that can be presented of it ; It is something that can be used to motivate teachers in their explanations. The oral explanation given by the teacher in class, as long as it is fluid and does not abuse the text written on slides or in the book, allows the information to be better assimilated in the minds of his students.
This is especially important in the university environment. Despite how elevated this type of education is, it is very common for teachers to limit themselves to reading slides or even, when they do not have time, to tell students to read X chapters of a book that, as a general rule, usually be genuinely boring and indigestible. This means that, if the university content is already difficult, its degree of difficulty is increased due to the boring nature of the entire educational process in this area.
Teachers should make an effort so that presentations are not slides full of text, but transform them into images conveniently related to the content that is being explained. Explaining them orally emphasizes what must be learned, in addition to allowing students to remember the material given when the exam or even the day they have to work arrives.
Regarding the part that involves the students, it would not be bad if, once at home or in the library, they addressed in more depth the content that has been explained to them in the classroom, looking for documentaries related to what they must learn. Normally, this type of multimedia entertainment does not contain long paragraphs of boring text, but rather consists of videos and images that are accompanied by the voice of the narrator, an ideal strategy as we have seen throughout this article.
Other ways to ensure that you acquire knowledge is, first, to transform the content of the book or source of information into a diagram and, orally, make an explanation of that same content to see if these contents have been acquired. .
