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Grouping in primary memory: the case of the compound suffix
1Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70803.
Summary
Adding dissimilar items to a list significantly impairs memory recall more than similar items. This finding challenges existing memory theories and suggests grouping influences recall.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Memory
Background:
- The suffix effect demonstrates that adding an irrelevant item to a list impairs recall.
- Typically, a second suffix does not further impair recall.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if physical dissimilarity of suffix items influences the suffix effect.
- To test whether increased dissimilarity enhances memory impairment.
Main Methods:
- Auditory experiments involved presenting digit sequences followed by one or two '0' suffixes spoken in different or same voices.
- A visual experiment used digit sequences with visually dissimilar or similar '0' typefonts as suffixes.
Main Results:
- Memory recall was significantly more impaired by two dissimilar suffixes (different voices or typefonts) than by a single suffix or two similar suffixes.
- This pattern held true in both auditory and visual modalities.
Conclusions:
- Physical dissimilarity of suffix items can amplify the suffix effect, contrary to some existing theories.
- Findings support a grouping hypothesis, where similar items form cohesive units, influencing memory recall.