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The time-based word length effect and stimulus set specificity.

Ian Neath1, Tamra J Bireta, Aimée M Surprenant

  • 1Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2004, USA. ineath@purdue.edu

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|August 19, 2003
PubMed
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The time-based word length effect, where shorter words are recalled better, was not consistently found. This challenges existing memory models, suggesting the effect is not robust across different word sets.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Human Memory

Background:

  • The word length effect demonstrates that shorter items are recalled better than longer items in immediate serial recall.
  • The time-based word length effect specifically links this phenomenon to the pronunciation time of words.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the robustness of the time-based word length effect.
  • To examine if variations in stimulus sets affect the presence of the time-based word length effect.

Main Methods:

  • Four experiments were conducted using disyllabic words that systematically varied in spoken duration.
  • Recall performance was assessed using immediate serial recall tests.
  • Stimulus sets were systematically varied across experiments while methodology remained constant.

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Main Results:

  • One set of words exhibited a standard word length effect.
  • Another set showed no significant word length effect.
  • A third set displayed a reverse word length effect, with longer words recalled better.
  • A fourth set also failed to produce a time-based word length effect.

Conclusions:

  • The time-based word length effect is not a robust phenomenon.
  • The inconsistency of the effect across different stimulus sets raises questions for theoretical models of the phonological loop.
  • Further research is needed to understand the conditions under which the time-based word length effect manifests.