The effect of mental imagery and cognitive styles on listening comprehension /

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of mental imagery as a strategy for comprehending prose materials presented orally. It also examined the influence of mental imagery in the individual learner's field dependent/field independent cognitive style. The time lapse before recall constituted the third dimension of this research. There were 185 students between the ages of 18-22 who were divided into two distinct groups of field dependent and field independent. Then each group was divided into four subgroups who participated in four research conditions; (1) mental imagery, immediate recall; (2) mental imagery, delayed recall; (3) no mental imagery, immediate recall; (4) no mental imagery, delayed recall. The data consisted of the total number of correct responses to the test on three pieces of prose. A three-way analysis of variance was performed to test the three main effects and any interaction effects among the variables. The statistic revealed a high degree of significance in the three main effects. However there was no significant interaction effect among the three factors.