The effect of irrelevant visual input on working memory for sign language

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Linguistics
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Working memory is crucial for language processing.
• Previous research focused on auditory input's effect on spoken language memory.
• The modality of language representation in working memory remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the modality-specific nature of working memory for American Sign Language (ASL).
• To determine if visual interference affects ASL working memory similarly to auditory interference on spoken language memory.
• To explore the representational format of sign language in working memory.

Main Methods:

• Deaf signers performed serial recall tasks with ASL sign lists.
• Interference conditions included pseudosigns and moving shapes during retention.
• Hearing participants recalled English word lists under identical conditions for comparison.

Main Results:

• ASL working memory was significantly disrupted by irrelevant visual stimuli (pseudosigns, shapes).
• English word list recall by hearing participants was not affected by the visual interference.
• These findings highlight modality-specific effects in working memory.

Conclusions:

• Working memory for ASL is sensitive to visual interference, supporting modality-specific models.
• Sign language working memory likely involves visual or quasi-visual representations.
• This suggests parallels between sign language working memory and visuospatial working memory.