Remembering the information in a text is different from learning from a text and applying the acquired knowledge (e.g., by making inferences). This distinction was investigated with a dissociation paradigm. After reading an expository text, subjects performed either a memory (recognition) or an inferencing (verification) test. The effects of the same variables on the performance on the two tasks were compared. Text organization tended to affect recognition but not verification test performance. When verifying nonstudied items by inferencing, the richness of the available text information and the type of processing required to make the inference were important. The educational implications of this dissociation between memory and inference tests are discussed.
Relation:
Contemporary educational psychology 16, pp. 314-330
