Part-set cuing of texts, scenes and matrices

In four experiments we extended the study of part-set cuing to expository texts and pictorial scenes. In Experiment 1 recall of expository text was tested with and without part-set cues in the same order as the original text; cues strongly impaired recall. Experiment 2 repeated Experiment 1 but used cues in random order and found significant but reduced impairment with cuing. Experiments 3 and 4 examined the part-set cuing of objects presented in a scene or matrix and found virtually no effect of cuing. More objects were recalled from the scene than from the matrix, indicating that the scene’s organization aided memory, but the cues did not assist recall. These results extend the domains in which part-set cues have either impaired or failed to improve recall. Implications for education and eye-witness accounts are briefly considered.