Word length and age influences on forward and backward immediate serial recall

Article

Baker, Rosemary, Tehan, Gerald and Tehan, Hannah. 2012. "Word length and age influences on forward and backward immediate serial recall." Memory and Cognition. 40 (1), pp. 40-51. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-011-0127-7
Article Title

Word length and age influences on forward and backward immediate serial recall

ERA Journal ID6515
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsBaker, Rosemary (Author), Tehan, Gerald (Author) and Tehan, Hannah (Author)
Journal TitleMemory and Cognition
Journal Citation40 (1), pp. 40-51
Number of Pages12
Year2012
Place of PublicationUnited States
ISSN0090-502X
1532-5946
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-011-0127-7
Web Address (URL)https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-011-0127-7
Abstract

The present research is aimed at understanding the
processes involved in short-term memory and how they
interact with age. Specifically, word length effects were
examined under forward serial recall, backward serial recall, and item recognition tasks, with performance being interpreted within an item-order theoretical framework. The interaction of age, word length, and direction of recall was examined in two experiments, the first of which confirmed that the word length was present with forward recall and absent with backward recall. In addition, age effects were stronger in backward recall than in forward recall. In the second experiment, an item-order trade-off methodology was utilized with backward recall. When order memory was required, there was no word length effect and strong age effects. When memory was tested via an item recognition test, there was a reverse word length effect and no age effect. While word length effects can be interpreted within the item-order framework, age effects cannot.

Keywordsshort-term memory; word length; forward recall; backward recall; aging
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020520406. Sensory processes, perception and performance
520499. Cognitive and computational psychology not elsewhere classified
520105. Psychological methodology, design and analysis
Public Notes

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.

Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Queensland
Department of Psychology
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q15q9/word-length-and-age-influences-on-forward-and-backward-immediate-serial-recall

Log in to edit
  • 1875
    total views
  • 7
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Exploring predictors of and barriers to online prostate cancer community use: A cross‐sectional survey of users and non‐users
Pyle, Denise, Tehan, Gerry, Lamont-Mills, Andrea and Chambers, Suzanne K.. 2021. "Exploring predictors of and barriers to online prostate cancer community use: A cross‐sectional survey of users and non‐users." Psycho-Oncology: journal of the psychological, social and behavioral dimensions of cancer. 31 (5), pp. 824-831. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5867
Working memory capacity as a determinant of proactive interference and auditory distraction
Tehan, Gerald, Arber, Madeleine M. and Tolan, G. Anne. 2018. "Working memory capacity as a determinant of proactive interference and auditory distraction." Journal of Cognition. 1 (1), pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.7
A scoping review of the characteristics and benefits of online prostate cancer communities
Pyle, Denise, Perry, Amanda, Lamont-Mills, Andrea, Tehan, Gerry and Chambers, Suzanne K.. 2021. "A scoping review of the characteristics and benefits of online prostate cancer communities." Psycho-Oncology: journal of the psychological, social and behavioral dimensions of cancer. 30 (5), pp. 659-668. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5618
Understanding performance decrements in a letter-canceling task: overcoming habits or inhibition of reading
Myers, Larry, Downie, Steven, Taylor, Grant, Marrington, Jessica, Tehan, Gerald and Ireland, Michael J.. 2018. "Understanding performance decrements in a letter-canceling task: overcoming habits or inhibition of reading." Frontiers in Psychology. 9, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00711
Ego depletion in real-time: an examination of the sequential-task paradigm
Arber, Madeleine M., Ireland, Michael J., Feger, Roy, Marrington, Jessica, Tehan, Joshua and Tehan, Gerald. 2017. "Ego depletion in real-time: an examination of the sequential-task paradigm." Frontiers in Psychology. 8, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01672
Using Mahalanobis distance to evaluate recovery in acute stroke
Tehan, Hannah, Witteveen, Kate, Tolan, G. Anne, Tehan, Gerald and Senior, Graeme J.. 2018. "Using Mahalanobis distance to evaluate recovery in acute stroke." Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. 33, pp. 577-582. https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acx107
Memory and communication support in dementia: research-based strategies for caregivers
Smith, Erin R., Broughton, Megan, Baker, Rosemary, Pachana, Nancy A., Angwin, Anthony J., Humphreys, Michael S., Mitchell, Leander, Byrne, Gerard J., Copland, David A., Gallois, Cindy, Hegney, Desley and Chenery, Helen J.. 2011. "Memory and communication support in dementia: research-based strategies for caregivers." International Psychogeriatrics. 23 (2), pp. 256-263. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610210001845
Redintegration, task difficulty and immediate serial recall tasks
Ritchie, Gabrielle, Tolan, Georgina Anne and Tehan, Gerald. 2015. "Redintegration, task difficulty and immediate serial recall tasks." Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. 69 (1), pp. 54-63. https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000031
Phonological effects in forward and backward serial recall: qualitative and quantitative differences
Ritchie, Gabrielle, Tolan, Georgina Anne, Tehan, Gerald, Goh, Hong Eng, Guerard, Katherine and Saint-Aubin, Jean. 2015. "Phonological effects in forward and backward serial recall: qualitative and quantitative differences." Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. 69 (1), pp. 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000028
Innovative mental health solutions for regional well-being and resilience
March, Sonja, Ireland, Michael, Brownlow, Charlotte, Goh, Hong Eng, Antonio, Amy, Tehan, Gerry and Keppell, Mike. 2014. "Innovative mental health solutions for regional well-being and resilience." Keppell, Mike and Reushle, Shirley (ed.) 2nd Digital Rural Futures Conference 2014. Toowoomba, Australia 25 - 27 Jun 2014 Toowoomba, Australia.
Order recall in verbal short-term memory: the role of semantic networks
Poirier, Marie, Saint-Aubin, Jean, Mair, Ali, Tehan, Gerald and Tolan, Anne. 2015. "Order recall in verbal short-term memory: the role of semantic networks." Memory and Cognition. 43 (3), pp. 489-499. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-014-0470-6
The focus of attention is similar to other memory systems rather than uniquely different
Beaudry, Olivia, Neath, Ian, Surprenant, Aimee M. and Tehan, Gerald. 2014. "The focus of attention is similar to other memory systems rather than uniquely different." Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 8, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00056
The effect of peripheral visual information on correct and false recall in short-term memory
Parham, S., Witteveen, K. and Tehan, G.. 2013. "The effect of peripheral visual information on correct and false recall in short-term memory." 48th Australian Psychological Society Annual Conference (APS 2013): Psychology for a Healthy Nation. Cairns, Australia 08 - 12 Oct 2013 Melbourne, Australia.
The false memory effect within a short-term memory paradigm
Tollemache, J., Ritchie, G., Parham, S., Wynne, R., Tolan, G. A., Witteveen, K. and Tehan, G.. 2013. "The false memory effect within a short-term memory paradigm." 48th Australian Psychological Society Annual Conference (APS 2013): Psychology for a Healthy Nation. Cairns, Australia 08 - 12 Oct 2013 Melbourne, Australia.
A connectionist model of short-term cued recall
Tehan, Gerald and Fallon, Anthony B.. 1999. "A connectionist model of short-term cued recall." Wiles, Janet and Dartnall, Terry (ed.) Perspectives on cognitive science: theories, experiments, and foundations. Stamford, CT. United States. Ablex Publishing Corporation. pp. 221-237
Age differences in short term memory and the process of redintegration
Scicluna, A., Tolan, G. A. and Tehan, G.. 2011. "Age differences in short term memory and the process of redintegration." Grimshaw, Gina (ed.) 38th Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference (EPC 2011). Auckland, New Zealand 28 - 30 Apr 2011 Auckland, New Zealand.
Backward recall and the word length effect
Surprenant, Aimee M., Brown, Mark A., Jalbert, Annie, Neath, Ian, Bireta, Tamra J. and Tehan, Gerald. 2011. "Backward recall and the word length effect." American Journal of Psychology. 124 (1), pp. 75-86. https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.124.1.0075
Immunity to proactive interference is not a property of the focus of attention in working memory
Ralph, Alicia, Walters, Jade N., Stevens, Alison, Fitzgerald, Kirra J., Tehan, Gerald, Surprenant, Aimee M., Neath, Ian and Turcotte, Josee. 2011. "Immunity to proactive interference is not a property of the focus of attention in working memory." Memory and Cognition. 39 (2), pp. 217-230. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-010-0030-7
Building pathways to academic success: a practice report
McIntyre, Jenny, Todd, Nick, Huijser, Henk and Tehan, Gerry. 2012. "Building pathways to academic success: a practice report." International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education. 3 (1), pp. 109-118. https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v3i1.110
Age and redintegration in immediate memory and their relationship to task difficulty
Neale, Kerry and Tehan, Gerald. 2007. "Age and redintegration in immediate memory and their relationship to task difficulty." Memory and Cognition. 35 (8), pp. 1940-1953. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192927
Determinants of short-term forgetting: decay, retroactive interference or proactive interference?
Tolan, G. Anne and Tehan, Gerald. 1999. "Determinants of short-term forgetting: decay, retroactive interference or proactive interference?" International Journal of Psychology. 34 (5-6), pp. 285-292. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075999399585
Phonological similarity and trace degradation in the serial recall task: when CAT helps RAT, but not MAN
Fallon, Anthony Bruce, Groves, Kim and Tehan, Gerald. 1999. "Phonological similarity and trace degradation in the serial recall task: when CAT helps RAT, but not MAN." International Journal of Psychology. 34 (5-6), pp. 301-307. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075999399602
Proactive interference effects on aging: is inhibition a factor?
Tehan, Gerald and Hauff, Helen M.. 2000. "Proactive interference effects on aging: is inhibition a factor?" Australian Psychologist. 35 (3), pp. 249-254. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050060008257487
Testing feature interaction: between-stream irrelevant speech effects in immediate recall
Tolan, G. Anne and Tehan, Gerald. 2002. "Testing feature interaction: between-stream irrelevant speech effects in immediate recall." Journal of Memory and Language. 46 (3), pp. 562-585.
The role of context in producing item interactions and false memories
Tehan, Gerald, Humphreys, Michael S., Tolan, G. Anne and Pitcher, Cameron. 2004. "The role of context in producing item interactions and false memories." Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 30, pp. 107-119.
The effect of item and relational processing on incidental long-term memory for order
Tehan, Gerald, Fallon, Anthony Bruce and Randall, Natalie. 1997. "The effect of item and relational processing on incidental long-term memory for order." Memory. 5 (4), pp. 457-482.
Word length and phonological similarity effects in simple, complex and delayed serial recall tasks: implications for working memory
Tehan, Gerald, Hendry, Liam and Kocinski, David. 2001. "Word length and phonological similarity effects in simple, complex and delayed serial recall tasks: implications for working memory." Memory. 9 (4-6), pp. 333-348. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210042000049
Word length effects are not due to proactive interference
Tehan, Gerald and Turcotte, Josée. 2002. "Word length effects are not due to proactive interference." Memory. 10 (2), pp. 139-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210143000272
Is spoken duration a sufficient explanation of the word length effect?
Tolan, G. Anne and Tehan, Gerald. 2005. "Is spoken duration a sufficient explanation of the word length effect?" Memory. 13 (3/4), pp. 372-379. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210344000305
An item/order tradeoff explanation of word length and generation effects
Hendry, Liam and Tehan, Gerald. 2005. "An item/order tradeoff explanation of word length and generation effects ." Memory. 13 (3/4), pp. 364-371. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210344000341
Word length effects in long-term memory
Tehan, Gerald and Tolan, Georgina Anne. 2007. "Word length effects in long-term memory." Journal of Memory and Language. 56 (1), pp. 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.206.08.015
Concreteness effects in short-term memory: A test of the item-order hypothesis
Roche, Jaclynn, Tolan, G. Anne and Tehan, Gerald. 2011. "Concreteness effects in short-term memory: A test of the item-order hypothesis." Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. 65 (4), pp. 245-253. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024693
Associative relatedness enhances recall and produces false memories in immediate serial recall
Tehan, Gerald. 2010. "Associative relatedness enhances recall and produces false memories in immediate serial recall." Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. 64 (4), pp. 266-272. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021375
Utility of a computerised cognitive screen in MCI and depression in an older population
Kingsbury, Rachell, Pachana, Nancy A., Humphreys, Michael, Tehan, Gerry and Byrne, Gerard J. A.. 2010. "Utility of a computerised cognitive screen in MCI and depression in an older population." The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling. 16 (1), pp. 14-26.
Evidence for proactive interference in the focus of attention of working memory
Carroll, Lauren M., Jalbert, Annie, Penney, Alexander M., Neath, Ian, Surprenant, Aimee M. and Tehan, Gerald. 2010. "Evidence for proactive interference in the focus of attention of working memory." Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology. 64 (3), pp. 208-214. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021011
Measuring episodic memory: a novel approach with an indefinite number of alternative forms
Humphreys, Michael S., Smith, Simon, Pachana, Nancy A., Tehan, Gerry and Byrne, Gerard J.. 2010. "Measuring episodic memory: a novel approach with an indefinite number of alternative forms." Applied Cognitive Psychology. 24 (8), pp. 1080-1094. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1591
Backward recall and benchmark effects of working memory
Bireta, Tamra J., Fry, Sheena E., Jalbert, Annie, Neath, Ian, Surprenant, Aimee M., Tehan, Gerald and Tolan, Georgina Anne. 2010. "Backward recall and benchmark effects of working memory." Memory and Cognition. 38 (3), pp. 279-291. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.38.3.279
Retrieval plus scanning: does it occur?
Brannelly, Susan, Tehan, Gerald and Humphreys, Michael S.. 1989. "Retrieval plus scanning: does it occur?" Memory and Cognition. 17 (6), pp. 712-722.
Word-length effects in backward serial recall and the remember/know task
Baker, Rosemary and Tehan, Gerald. 2008. "Word-length effects in backward serial recall and the remember/know task ." Voudouris, Nicholas and Mrowinski, Vicky (ed.) 43rd Annual Australian Psychological Society Conference (APS 2008): Psychology Leading Change. Hobart, Australia 23 - 27 Sep 2008 Melbourne, Australia.
Articulatory loop explanations of memory span and pronunciation rate correspondences: a cautionary note
Tehan, Gerald and Humphreys, Michael S.. 1988. "Articulatory loop explanations of memory span and pronunciation rate correspondences: a cautionary note." Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society. 26, pp. 293-296.
Working memory and short-term memory storage: what does backward recall tell us?
Tehan, Gerald and Mills, Kaye. 2007. "Working memory and short-term memory storage: what does backward recall tell us?" Osaka, Naoyuki, Logie, Robert H. and D'Esposito, Mark (ed.) The cognitive neuroscience of working memory. Oxford, United Kingdom. Oxford University Press.
Recalling a floor routine: the effects of skill and age on memory for order
Tenenbaum, Gershon, Tehan, Gerald, Stewart, Georgia and Christensen, Steven A.. 1999. "Recalling a floor routine: the effects of skill and age on memory for order." Applied Cognitive Psychology. 13 (2), pp. 101-123.
Individual differences in memory span: the contribution of rehearsal, access to lexical memory and output speed
Tehan, Gerald and Lalor, D. M.. 2000. "Individual differences in memory span: the contribution of rehearsal, access to lexical memory and output speed." Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology A: Human Experimental Psychology. 53 (4), pp. 1012-1038. https://doi.org/10.1080/713755933
Associative priming in perceptual identification: effects of prime-processing requirements
Burt, Jennifer S., Walker, Michael B., Humphreys, Michael S. and Tehan, Gerald. 1993. "Associative priming in perceptual identification: effects of prime-processing requirements." Memory and Cognition. 21, pp. 125-137.
Transient phonemic codes and immunity to proactive interference
Tehan, Gerald and Humphreys, Michael S.. 1995. "Transient phonemic codes and immunity to proactive interference." Memory and Cognition. 23, pp. 181-191.
Cuing effects in short-term recall
Tehan, Gerald and Humphreys, Michael S.. 1996. "Cuing effects in short-term recall." Memory and Cognition. 24, pp. 719-732.
Creating proactive interference in immediate recall: building a dog from a dart, a mop and a fig
Tehan, Gerald and Humphreys, Michael S.. 1998. "Creating proactive interference in immediate recall: building a dog from a dart, a mop and a fig." Memory and Cognition. 26, pp. 477-489.
Target similarity effects: support for the parallel distributed processing assumptions
Humphreys, Michael S., Tehan, Gerald, O'Shea, Annissa and Bolland, Scott W.. 2000. "Target similarity effects: support for the parallel distributed processing assumptions." Memory and Cognition. 28 (5), pp. 798-811.
The contribution to immediate serial recall of rehearsal, search speed, access to lexical memory, and phonological coding: an investigation at the construct level
Tehan, Gerald, Fogarty, Gerard J. and Ryan, Katherine. 2004. "The contribution to immediate serial recall of rehearsal, search speed, access to lexical memory, and phonological coding: an investigation at the construct level." Memory and Cognition. 32 (5), pp. 711-721.
Lexicality and phonological similarity: a challenge for the retrieval-based account of serial recall?
Fallon, Anthony B., Mak, Eva, Tehan, Gerald and Daly, Charmaine. 2005. "Lexicality and phonological similarity: a challenge for the retrieval-based account of serial recall?" Memory. 13 (3/4), pp. 349-356. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210344000215