Why are concrete words like 'typewriter' easier to remember than abstract words like 'void'?

Explanation

Concrete words are more easily remembered because they are highly imageable, meaning they can be easily represented as mental pictures. This dual-coding effect—where information is stored both verbally and visually—provides multiple pathways for retrieval. Abstract words, by contrast, lack clear physical referents, making them harder to visualize and thus less likely to be encoded through imagery. This phenomenon highlights the importance of visual processing in strengthening memory traces for concrete concepts.