Mnemonic Learning of Artists and Their Paintings

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted in which the “face-name” mnemonic (e.g., McCarty, 1980) was adapted for use in learning 30 painting/artist associations, the kind of task one faces in an art appreciation class. While control groups used their “own best method” for learning who painted what paintings, subjects in mnemonic conditions were given keywords for the artists’ names and meaningful interactions between corresponding keywords and paintings. In one mnemonic condition, pen-and-ink sketches of the interactions were provided. A second mnemonic condition provided verbal decriptions of the interactions. Undergraduate subjects in mnemonic conditions were better able to match artists and their paintings. Further, subjects using the verbal version of the mnemonic strategy were somewhat superior in an artist-recall task. Similar patterns of results were found on immediate and 2-day delayed performance tasks. Implications of the results, and considerations of the weaker recall effects, are included in the discussion.