Research article summary (published 30 Dec 2001):

Long-term retention of a theatrical script by repertory actors: the role of context.

Full Abstract

Four actors were requested to perform Sartre's No Exit after a retention interval of more than 5 months. Their recall of the play was studied either with the spatial and visual contextual cues normally available during a performance or without such cues. Total recall was still considerable, equalling 85%. The number of paraphrases of, and inferences on, the original text was however quite large (32%), suggesting that the actors had learned their lines according to their meaning rather than as a result of rote memorisation. The context manipulation showed that actors' recall is facilitated by the availability of spatial-visual information, but only to a limited extent. The relative importance of textual and contextual cues in the long-term retention of a play is discussed.

Author information

Author/s: Schmidt, Henk G (HG); Boshuizen, Henny P A (HP); van Breukelen, Gerard J P (GJ);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam. schmidt(-atsign-)fsw.eur.nl

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Memory (Hove, England) (Memory), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jan; vol 10 (issue 1) : pp 21-8

Dates: Created 2001/12/18; Completed 2002/02/27; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 11747573, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Cues Drama Female Humans Learning Male

Male Mental Recall Middle Aged Models, Psychological Overlearning Retention (Psychology) Time Factors

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