Related Experiment Videos
The effects of recoding and presentation format on recency and suffix effects.
S K Manning1, L Koehler, S Hampton
1Department of Psychology, Hunter College, New York, NY 10021.
Memory & Cognition
|March 1, 1990
Summary
Recency and suffix effects in memory are not solely dependent on stimulus type or recoding. Auditory quasivocables showed stronger effects than words, challenging the primary linguistic theory.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
- Memory Research
Background:
- The primary linguistic theory suggests stimuli requiring recoding are not in the primary linguistic mode, predicting reduced recency and suffix effects.
- Previous research indicated recency effects with American Sign Language (ASL) stimuli in normal hearing subjects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between stimulus modality, recoding, and memory effects (recency and suffix).
- To test the predictions of the primary linguistic theory regarding stimulus processing and memory recall.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted with normal hearing subjects.
- Subjects learned to associate American Sign Language (ASL) stimuli, visual quasivocables (QVs), and auditory QVs with English words.
- Recall tasks included strict serial order recall and a standard suffix paradigm with auditory and visual presentations.
Main Results:
- Recency and suffix effects were observed only with auditorily presented quasivocables and words.
- Auditory quasivocables yielded greater recency and suffix effects than auditory words, despite requiring recoding.
- Previous findings of recency with ASL stimuli were not replicated.
Conclusions:
- Recency and suffix effects are not determined by the primary linguistic mode of the subject.
- Stimulus recoding, as defined by Shand and Klima, does not appear to be the determining factor for recency and suffix effects.
- The findings challenge the primary linguistic theory's predictions regarding memory recall phenomena.