Generation and Precision of Elaboration: Effects on Intentional and Incidental Learning

Across three experiments adults were presented either base sentences containing arbitrary relations (e.g., The fat man read the sign) or base sentences accompanied by a precise elaboration that made clear the significance of the particular type of man doing the action (e.g., The fat man read the sign warning about thin ice). Subjects either read the sentence alone or answered a question accompanying the sentence. Why did that particular man do that? accompanied base sentences; How does the last part of the sentence make clear why that particular man did that? accompanied precisely elaborated sentences. Both intentional and incidental learning were studied. The positive effects of providing precise elaborations were moderate in size and confined to incidental learning. Much larger incidental and intentional learning gains followed generation of elaborations in response to questions, with generated precise elaborations facilitating acquisition slightly better than generated imprecise elaborations.