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Children's suffix effects for verbal working memory reflect phonological coding and perceptual grouping
Joanna H Lowenstein1, Courtney Cribb1, Popy Shell1
1Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|April 2, 2019
Summary
Speech suffixes disrupt memory for word lists, especially for final items. This effect, seen in both children and adults, is stronger for speech than non-speech suffixes, suggesting phonological structure influences memory recall.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Auditory Perception
- Memory Studies
Background:
- Serial recall of word lists typically shows primacy and recency effects.
- Appending a speech suffix to a list diminishes the recency effect.
- Existing theories propose phonological structure recovery or perceptual grouping as mechanisms for the suffix effect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate competing accounts of the suffix effect in memory.
- To investigate potential age-related differences in the suffix effect.
- To examine the role of phonological structure and perceptual grouping in memory recall.
Main Methods:
- Adults and 8-year-old children recalled word list order under five suffix conditions: none, auditory speech, lipread speech, tone, and colored circle.
- Overt articulation was prohibited, but attention to the suffix was mandatory.
- Serial recall accuracy was analyzed across list positions and suffix types.
Main Results:
- Children's serial recall was generally poorer than adults', but age groups showed similar patterns across list positions.
- Speech suffixes (auditory and lipread) had a stronger impact than nonspeech suffixes (tone, circle).
- The suffix effect was not limited to the final list item and was modulated by whether the suffix was heard or lipread, with heard speech having a greater effect on late list items.
Conclusions:
- Both phonological structure and perceptual grouping contribute to the suffix effect.
- Heard and lipread speech suffixes engage similar mechanisms, but auditory speech has a more pronounced impact on late list items.
- The findings support an interaction between phonological processing and perceptual grouping in memory recall, with age-related differences in overall recall accuracy but similar pattern effects.