A new model of verbal short-term memory

Two experiments tested a neo-Piagetian model of verbal short-term memory and compared it with the articulatory loop model. Experiment 1 (n = 113, age range 9-11) tested word span for 2-, 3-, and 4-syllable words, with both visual and auditory presentation. Experiment 2 (with the same participants) tested recall of visually presented supraspan lists. Measures of M capacity (as conceived in Pascual-Leone's neo-Piagetian theory) and articulation rate were also used. The proposed model can account for the effects of M capacity, word length, and presentation modality. The fit of this model to the data was acceptable, and parameter estimates were consistent across experiments. Furthermore, a correlation was found between M capacity and word span which resisted partialling out of age and articulation rate.