On Consolidation and the Potency of Delayed Stimulus Suffixes

In a strictly serial recall task, increasing the temporal separation of a spoken memory list and a spoken distractor (stimulus suffix) is known to reduce the latter's potency as a source of interference. This phenomenon was studied further using suffix delays in the range 0.8–6.4 s and a transcription task to minimize rehearsal during the suffix delay. The results indicated that the probability of correct recall from the terminal serial position, of a sequence of eight digits, is a linearly increasing function of the logarithm of the suffix delay, over the range studied. The results are discussed in terms of their value as evidence for the existence of a consolidation process.

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Effect of Perceiving Computing to Be an Acquirable Skill upon a Computer-Mediated Serial Recall Task

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.100.2.354-356 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 100 (2) ◽

pp. 354-356 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. J. Brosnan

Keyword(s):

Serial Recall ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Recall Task ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Computer Mediated ◽

Serial Recall Task ◽

Computer Based ◽

Pencil And Paper ◽

Traditional Assessments

Serial recall tasks assess the capacity of verbal short-term memory. The perception of computing as an acquirable skill rather than a fixed ability affected performance upon computer-based serial recall tasks but did not affect performance on comparable pencil-and-paper tasks. Computerized versions of traditional assessments should control for this.

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Time of presentation affects auditory distraction: Changing-state and deviant sounds disrupt similar working memory processes

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/1747021818758239 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 72 (3) ◽

pp. 457-471 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ulrike Körner ◽

Jan P Röer ◽

Axel Buchner ◽

Raoul Bell

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Serial Recall ◽

Focus Of Attention ◽

Recall Task ◽

Auditory Distraction ◽

Memory Processes ◽

Serial Recall Task ◽

Time Of Presentation

Four experiments tested conflicting predictions about which components of the serial-recall task are most sensitive to auditory distraction. Changing-state (Experiments 1a and 1b) and deviant distractor sounds (Experiments 2a and 2b) were presented in one of four different intervals of the serial-recall task: (1) during the first half of encoding, (2) during the second half of encoding, (3) during the first half of retention, or (4) during the second half of retention. According to the embedded-processes model, both types of distractors should interfere with the encoding and rehearsal of targets in the focus of attention. According to the duplex-mechanism account, changing-state distractors should interfere only with rehearsal, whereas deviant distractors should interfere only with encoding. Inconsistent with the latter view, changing-state and deviant distractor sounds interfered with both the encoding and the retention of the targets. Both types of auditory distraction were most pronounced during the second half of encoding when the increasing rehearsal demands had to be coordinated with the continuous updating of the rehearsal set. These findings suggest that the two types of distraction disrupt similar working memory mechanisms.

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