Articulatory Length and Phonological Similarity in Span Tasks: A Reply to Baddeley and Andrade

1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1055-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Caplan ◽  
Gloria S. Waters
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Phonological Similarity ◽  
Partial Replication ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Span Tasks

We report a partial replication of previous results by Caplan, Rochon, and Waters (1992), using methods that address objections raised by Baddeley and Andrade (this issue) and that improve on several techniques used by them. The results cast doubts on the role of articulation in determining the word length effect in span, and hence on the role of articulation in rehearsal.

The word length effect in backward recall: the role of response modality

Memory ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 692-700
Author(s):  
Jean Saint-Aubin ◽  
Olivia Beaudry ◽  
Dominic Guitard ◽  
Myriam Pâquet ◽  
Katherine Guérard
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Response Modality ◽  
Word Length Effect ◽  
Backward Recall

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.

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 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.

scholarly journals Is spoken duration a sufficient explanation of the word length effect?

Memory ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 372-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Tehan ◽  
Georgina Anne Tolan
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Word Length Effect

Visual Word Expertise: A Study of Inversion and the Word-Length Effect, with Perceptual Transforms

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p7698 ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 438-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Eklinder Björnström ◽  
Charlotte Hills ◽  
Hashim Hanif ◽  
Jason J S Barton
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Word Length Effect
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