Reversing the Word-Length Effect: A Comment on Caplan, Rochon, and Waters

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1047-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Baddeley ◽  
Jackie Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Serial Recall ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Acoustic Similarity ◽  
Short Word ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Immediate Serial Recall ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Significant Reversal

Caplan, Rochon, and Waters (1992) report a failure to observe the poorer immediate serial recall for words of longer spoken duration obtained by Baddeley, Thomson, and Buchanan (1975) and subsequently replicated by others. Indeed, they find a significant reversal of this effect. We present evidence that the material used by Caplan et al. differs only minimally in spoken duration under speeded articulation conditions (Exp. 1 = 1.9%, Exp 2 = 2.31%), in contrast to a clear difference in the case of the original Baddeley et al. material (24.5%). It is further suggested that the reversal of the word-length effect may result from differences in acoustic similarity between the “long” and “short” word sets used by Caplan et al. We conclude that the evidence continues to indicate that longer spoken duration is associated with reduced memory span.

The Word-length Effect and Disyllabic Words

2000 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lovatt ◽  
S.E. Avons ◽  
Jackie Masterson
Keyword(s):  
Short Duration ◽  
Serial Recall ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Semantic Associations ◽  
Disyllabic Words

Three experiments compared immediate serial recall of disyllabic words that differed on spoken duration. Two sets of long- and short-duration words were selected, in each case maximizing duration differences but matching for frequency, familiarity, phonological similarity, and number of phonemes, and controlling for semantic associations. Serial recall measures were obtained using auditory and visual presentation and spoken and picture-pointing recall. In Experiments 1a and 1b, using the first set of items, long words were better recalled than short words. In Experiments 2a and 2b, using the second set of items, no difference was found between long and short disyllabic words. Experiment 3 confirmed the large advantage for short-duration words in the word set originally selected by Baddeley, Thomson, and Buchanan (1975). These findings suggest that there is no reliable advantage for short-duration disyllables in span tasks, and that previous accounts of a word-length effect in disyllables are based on accidental differences between list items. The failure to find an effect of word duration casts doubt on theories that propose that the capacity of memory span is determined by the duration of list items or the decay rate of phonological information in short-term memory.

The Word-Length Effect in Probed and Serial Recall

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Avons ◽  
K. L. Wright ◽  
Kristen Pammer
Keyword(s):  
Serial Recall ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Recency Effect ◽  
Auditory Presentation ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Immediate Serial Recall ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Encoding Strategies ◽  
Serial Position Curves

The word-length effect in immediate serial recall has been explained as the possible consequence of rehearsal processes or of output processes. In the first experiment adult subjects heard lists of five long or short words while engaging in articulatory suppression during presentation. Full serial recall or probed recall for a single item followed the list either immediately or after a 5-second delay to encourage rehearsal. The word-length effect was not influenced by recall delay, but was much smaller in probed than in serial recall. Examination of the serial position curves suggested that this might be due to a recency component operating in probed recall. Experiment 2 confirmed a word-length-insensitive recency effect in probed recall and showed that this was resistant to an auditory suffix, unlike the small recency effect found in serial recall. Experiment 3 used visual presentation without concurrent articulation. Under these conditions there was no recency effect for either recall method, but the word-length effect was again much smaller in probed than in serial recall. This was confirmed in Experiment 4, in which the presentation of serial and probed recall was randomized across trials, showing that the differences between recall methods could not be due to encoding strategies. We conclude that for visual presentation, at least part of the word-length effect originates in output processes. For auditory presentation the position is less clear, as serial and probed recall appear to draw on different resources. The nature of the output processes that may give rise to word-length effects is discussed.

The Effect of Word Length on Immediate Serial Recall Depends on Phonological Complexity, Not Articulatory Duration

1998 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabet Service
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Immediate Serial Recall ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Phonological Complexity ◽  
Better Than

Immediate recall for sequences of short words is better than for sequences of long words. This word-length effect has been thought to depend on the spoken duration of the words (Baddeley, Thomson, & Buchanan, 1975) or their phonological complexity (Caplan, Rochon, & Waters, 1992). In Finnish both vowel and consonant quantity distinguish between words. Long phonemes behave like phoneme repetitions. In Experiment 1, subjects were presented with auditory lists of three kinds of pseudowords based on Finnish phonotactics: short CVCV-structures (e.g. / tepa/), long two-syllable items with long phonemes (e.g. / te: p: a/), and long three-syllable items with CVCVCV structures (e.g. / tepalo/). Although both kinds of long stimuli (of identical spoken length) took longer to read, only three-syllable items were more difficult to remember than the short stimuli. Experiment 2 contrasted the effect of number of syllables with number of different phonemes. The long two-syllable items were replaced by two-syllable items of equal spoken duration but containing six different phonemes (e.g. / tiempa/). These two-syllable items were as difficult to recall as were the three-syllable items. Experiment 3 controlled for the possibility that long stimuli might be rehearsed in a shorter form. It is concluded that aspects of phonological complexity are critical for word-length effects. Implications of this finding for working memory theory are discussed, and future work based on multi-layered phonological representations is proposed.

Articulatory and Phonological Determinants of Word Length Effects in Span Tasks

1992 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Caplan ◽  
Elizabeth Rochon ◽  
Gloria S. Waters
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Phonological Structure ◽  
Visual Span ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Length Effects

Several previous studies have shown that memory span is greater for short words than for long words. This effect is claimed to occur even when the short and long words are matched for the number of syllables and phonemes and so to provide evidence for subvocal articulation as being one mechanism that underlies memory span (Baddeley, Thomson, & Buchanan, 1975). The three experiments reported in this paper further investigate the articulatory determinants of word length effects on span tasks. Experiment 1 replicated Baddeley et al.'s finding of an effect of word length on auditory and visual span when the stimuli consist of words that differ in terms of the number of syllables. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the effects of word length are eliminated when the words in the span task are matched for the number of syllables and phonemes but differ with respect to the duration and/or complexity of their articulatory gestures. These results indicate that it is the phonological structure of a word and not features of its actual articulation that determines the magnitude of the word length effect in span tasks.

Characteristics of Spatial Memory Span: Is there an Analogy to the Word Length Effect, Based on Movement Time?

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary M. Smyth ◽  
Keith A. Scholey
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Movement Time ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Word Length Effect

In studies of verbal short-term memory it has been shown that the length of words to be remembered affects the size of memory span. This word-length effect is attributed to relationships between the rate of rehearsal of verbal material and the time it takes to speak the words being rehearsed. For spatial memory span there may also be an internal rehearsal system linked to overt responding, and if there is a strong analogy to be drawn between the verbal and spatial domains then movement time between spatial targets should predict the number of spatial locations that can be recalled. In the experiments reported here the time taken to move between spatial targets is varied by altering the size of targets and the distance between them. No difference between span performance on a nine-block spatial span task were found, either on immediate recall or on recall after an interval. When recall is of items from an array of 27, grouped in nine sets of three, with only one location in any set being presented on any trial, there is an effect of display size. This effect is consonant with the argument that movement time is related to spatial rehearsal, but other explanations are also possible. However, if recall in this task is scored over the nine sets rather than over the 27 items, then there is no difference between the displays. The results indicate that performance on the normal nine-block spatial-span task cannot be predicted by movement time.

Item Identification Time and Rehearsal Rate as Predictors of Memory Span in Children

1989 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Hitch ◽  
M. S. Halliday ◽  
J. E. Littler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Articulatory Suppression ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Developmental Differences ◽  
Memory Model ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Identification Time ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Working Memory Model

According to the working memory model of Baddeley and Hitch (1974), the sensitivity of memory span to word length arises from the time taken to rehearse items in a speech-based “articulatory loop”. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the word-length effect may result from differences in the speed of perceptual processes of item identification. Changes in the speed of rehearsal and of item identification have also been claimed to contribute to the growth of memory span that is seen in development. In order to compare these two variables directly, groups of children aged 8 and 11 were assessed on memory span for words of one, two, and three syllables; span under articulatory suppression; rehearsal rate; and item identification time. Span was found to be a linear function of rehearsal rate across differences in both word length and age. The word-length effect was unrelated to item identification time and was diminished by articulatory suppression. These results show that the word-length effect reflects rehearsal and not item identification processes. However, the results also suggest that changes in item identification time contribute to developmental differences in span when articulation is suppressed. A distinction between item identification and rehearsal effects can be readily interpreted in terms of the working memory model if it is assumed that they indicate the efficiency of different subsystems involved in span.

Phonological Similarity, Pronunciation Rate, and Memory Span

1990 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Schweickert ◽  
Lawrence Guentert ◽  
Lora Hersberger
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Phonological Similarity ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Rate Difference ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Phonological Similarity Effect ◽  
Similarity Effect ◽  
Special Case

Memory span is smaller for (a) items taking longer to pronounce and (b) phonologically more similar items. We investigated the relation between the two effects. Chase (1977) found that phonologically similar items were pronounced more slowly than dissimilar ones in a pronunciation task. A pronunciation rate difference in immediate recall could explain the phonological similarity effect as a special case of the word-length effect. Instead, the study found that pronunciation rates were equal. In the equation s = rt, span equals pronunciation rate times trace duration, word-length affects r while phonological similarity affects t. The two effects are shown to be complementary.

scholarly journals Reexamination of Word Length Effect: Immediate Serial Recall of Foreign Words

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Junichiro Takeno ◽  
Ken Tamai ◽  
Shigenobu Takatsuka
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Phonological Loop ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Position Effects ◽  
Serial Position Effects ◽  
Immediate Serial Recall ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Effective Use

In this study we examined the word length effect—one characteristic of the phonological loop of working memory—in a foreign language. Serial position effects, such as the primacy effect and the recency effect, were observed in the recall of foreign words, similar to results in L1 studies. Recall of long (one-syllable) and short (three-syllable) words in pure (all long or all short) and mixed (long and short) lists was compared. In pure lists, there was a tendency for long words to be more poorly remembered than short words, which we considered to be because of the word length effect. In mixed lists, both long and short words were recalled equally as well as short words were recalled in pure lists. These results indicate that we should pay more attention to item distinctiveness, which elicits the attention of the central executive in working memory, as well as the word length effect in regards to rehearsal speed. Effective use of the phonological loop in listening comprehension is also discussed. 本研究は、ワーキングメモリモデルの音韻ループに見られる語長効果について再検討を試みたものである。外国語の単語記銘においても、母国語話者を対象とした研究と同じように初頭効果や新近性効果が確認された。単純リストと混合リストにおける長い語と短い語の再生率を比較したところ、単純リストでは、長い語は短い語よりも再生率が悪くなるという語長効果の傾向が見られるものの、混合リストにおいては、長い語も短い語も単純リストにおける短い語と同程度の再生率であった。これらの結果は、短期記憶容量は決められた項目数ではなく復唱速度が重要な要因であるという語長効果に基づく説明に加えて、ワーキングメモリの中央実行系に注意喚起を促す、項目の示差性などによる説明の必要性があることを示している。本研究では、聴解における音韻ループの効果的な活用についても論じている。

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Improving reading rate prediction with word length information: Evidence from Dutch

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110171
Author(s):  
Marc Brysbaert ◽  
Longjiao Sui ◽  
Wouter Duyck ◽  
Nicolas Dirix
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Reading Rate ◽  
English Word ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Dutch Language ◽  
Processing Effort

Previous research in English has suggested that reading rate predictions can be improved considerably by taking average word length into account. In the present study, we investigated whether the same regularity holds for Dutch. The Dutch language is very similar to English, but words are on average half a letter longer: 5.1 letters per word (in non-fiction) instead of 4.6. We collected reading rates of 62 participants reading 12 texts with varying word lengths, and examined which change in the English equation accounts for the Dutch findings. We observed that predictions were close to the best fitting curve as soon as the average English word length was replaced by the average Dutch word length. The equation predicts that Dutch texts with an average word length of 5.1 letters will be read at a rate of 238 word per minute (wpm). Texts with an average word length of 4.5 letter will be read at 270 wpm, and texts with an average word length of 6.0 letters will be read at a rate of 202 wpm. The findings are in line with the assumption that the longer words in Dutch do not slow down silent reading relative to English and that the word length effect observed in each language is due to word processing effort and not to low-level, visual factors.

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