Skip to main content

Effect of Verbal & Pictorial Materials on Memory Retention among Undergraduate Students – An Interventional Study | Chapter 05 | New Insights into Disease and Pathogen Research Vol. 1

Aims: To compare the effectiveness of pictorial against verbal materials in memory retention among medical students.

Study Design: Crossover randomized controlled trial.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Muar, Johor, Malaysia in April 2016.

Methodology: 38 right-handed medical students of Melaka-Manipal Medical College were volunteers and participants were divided into two groups equally via simple random sampling. One group of participants were to recall pictures shown first followed by words while the other group of participants were to recall words first followed by pictures. All the pictures and words shown were of everyday objects. Data were analysed using Epi Info version 7.

Results: There was a significant difference of memory retention between pictures and words (P-value =; p < 0.05) and of memory accuracy (P-value; p < 0.05). For memory retention, both groups were found to have higher scores for pictures than words as both groups obtained a mean score of 11.3 and 13.4 respectively for the pictures and 9.7 and 11.1 respectively for words. For memory accuracy, pictures were found to be recalled better than words as the mean scores for the pictures are higher than words in both groups.

Conclusion: Information in the form of pictures should be more utilized in medical schools so that medical students can have better memory retention which in turn will lead to better academic performances. This study shows that picture superiority effect has a remarkable effect in the memory retention of pictorial and verbal materials. Therefore, the results of this study support the need to implement and apply this theory in medical schools which require heavy memorization of informations in the form of pictures and text. Hence, the utilization of this method of study is essential for more efficient learning and improving academic performance.

Author(s) Details

Dr Khoo Jing Hern
Department of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, 75150 Melaka, Malaysia.

Dr. Muhammad Khairul Anwar bin Mohd Yusof
Department of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, 75150 Melaka, Malaysia.

Dr. Fatin Nuraidil binti Zaifulbahri
Department of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, 75150 Melaka, Malaysia.

Nurfarah Aini binti Azahar
Department of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, 75150 Melaka, Malaysia.

Dr. Grace Sugumaran
Department of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, 75150 Melaka, Malaysia.

Navin Kumar Sarkunam
Department of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, 75150 Melaka, Malaysia.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Greening Regional Airports: A Vision for Carbon Neutral Infrastructure | Chapter 12 | Contemporary Perspective on Science, Technology and Research Vol. 3

 This study provides an overview of the energy demand of a regional airport, divided into individual time horizons. The electrification of aircraft systems raises the question of whether airports will be among the largest electricity consumers in our infrastructure in the future. Sustainability and especially emission reductions are significant challenges for airports that are currently being addressed. The Clean Sky 2 project GENESIS addresses the environmental sustainability of hybrid-electric 50-passenger aircraft systems in a life cycle perspective to support the development of a technology roadmap for the transition to sustainable and competitive electric aircraft systems. This article originates from the GENESIS research and describes various options for ground power supply at a regional airport. Potential solutions for airport infrastructure with a short (2030), medium (2040), and long (2050) time horizon are proposed. In addition to the environmental and conservation benefi...

Alkali Element Modification of Glucose Molecules as a Method to Dissolve Cancer Cells | Chapter 12 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 4

  The present study highlights about alkali element modification of glucose molecules as a method to dissolve cancer cells. The central regulation of the mechanisms governing cell proliferation has little effect on cancer cells. Cancer cells are entirely independent of the central command and divide and proliferate on their own, making it challenging to activate their response mechanism. Precisely, this is the reason why they are at risk to the health of humans and/or any biological entities. Instead of trying to reconnect the central command of the growth control mechanism to cancer cells that are already out of the range, we present a method of using the cancer cell’s own irresponsive and uncontrolled growth mechanism to their disadvantage and destroy the cancer cells. We found that this is achievable in an atomic/molecular level study of the glucose molecule, which is the primary food source used for growth and energy generation by all cells in the body, including the cancer cel...

Risk Factors for Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders. A Review of the Literature | Chapter 8 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 4

  Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the risk factors for the development of postpartum psychiatric disorders through international literature. Materials and Methods: Throughout many articles in PubMed, Google scholar and PsycInfo, a great amount of recent data was gathered to identify the disorders that are most common as well as their risk factors. Results: After childbirth, most commonly women experience postpartum depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and postpartum psychosis. All the disorders have many similar risk-factors with the main one being preexisting psychiatric disorder and many similar symptoms too. Conclusions: Women after childbirth are at risk of experience many psychiatric disorders, such as postpartum distress, postpartum post traumatic stress disorder and even more rarely postpartum psychosis. It is important to provide comprehensive support to ensure the well-being of both the mother and the infant and this will b...