The generation and recall of personally-relevant information

Abstract

Although node-link mapping has been shown to be effective in both educational and drug-abuse settings, the specific aspects of node-link mapping that account for its effectiveness remain unclear. The present study examined students' generation and recall of personally-relevant information using techniques that varied in the use of spatial and relationship aspects of node-link maps: (1) link-guided mapping (that had both a spatial aspect (via nodes) and a relationship aspect (via link-types), (2) unguided mapping (that had a spatial aspect only), (3) link-guided listing (that had a relationship aspect only), or (4) unguided listing (that had neither a spatial nor a relationship aspect). Participants generated ideas for two self-selected topics and then were tested for recall of their generated ideas 48 hours later. Whereas an information retrieval perspective would suggest that the spatial and link-type cues should facilitate idea generation and recall, a brainstorming perspective would suggest that idea generation and recall may benefit from more open-ended strategies. It appears, at least in the current experimental context, that link-types appear to initially interfere with cognitive processes that may otherwise operate smoothly. Importantly, students who used the spatial aspect of node-link maps (i.e., unguided and link-guided mapping) appeared to become more proficient over time compared to students who used listing (i.e., unguided and link-guided listing). Implications for counseling and future research directions are discussed.