Subjects were given alternate learning trials (auditory presentation of pairs) and recall trials
(presentation of stimuli) on a list of paired-associates composed of concrete and abstract
nouns. On the assumption that concrete nouns are superior to abstract nouns in their
capacity to elicit sensory images, and that imagery can mediate the formation of an
associative connection between members of a pair, it was expected that learning would be
particularly facilitated with the concrete nouns as stimuli. Thus, the predicted learning …