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Related Experiment Video

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Short-term memory coding by deaf signers: the primary language coding hypothesis reconsidered.

V L Hanson¹, E H Lichtenstein

¹IBM Research Division, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York.

Cognitive Psychology

|April 1, 1990

Summary

Hearing individuals may rely on phonetic codes in short-term memory, similar to deaf signers. This challenges the idea that deaf signers exclusively use sign language for recoding, suggesting phonetic recoding is also possible.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Linguistics
Memory Studies

Background:

Shand's (1982) hypothesis proposed that hearing individuals' reliance on phonetic codes in short-term memory stems from their primary language experience.
Shand's experiment suggested deaf signers recoded English words into American Sign Language (ASL) based on structural similarity, supporting the primary language hypothesis.

Purpose of the Study:

To challenge Shand's primary language interpretation of short-term memory recoding in deaf signers.
To investigate alternative explanations for recall patterns in deaf individuals and hearing individuals.

Main Methods:

An experiment was conducted with hearing subjects using Shand's word lists.
A comprehensive literature review of short-term memory studies involving deaf subjects was performed.

Main Results:

Hearing subjects exhibited a similar recall pattern to that observed in Shand's deaf subjects.
The literature review indicated that deaf signers' recoding strategies are influenced by various task and subject factors.
Contrary to Shand's hypothesis, deaf signers may utilize phonetic recoding in short-term recall.

Conclusions:

The findings question the universality of the primary language hypothesis for short-term memory recoding.
Deaf signers' recoding processes in short-term memory are more complex and context-dependent than previously suggested.
Phonetic recoding is a viable strategy for deaf signers in short-term memory tasks, irrespective of primary language experience.