Abstract
Serial order recall for visually and auditorily presented stimuli was examined in a group of 12-year-old poor readers and 7-year-old reading-age controls. With pictorial presentation, the poor readers showed a visual similarity effect, no word length effect, and a smaller phonemic similarity effect than that of controls. However, with visual presentation of printed words and with auditory presentation, poor readers showed word length and phonemic similarity effects of similar magnitude to that of controls. It is concluded that poor readers rely on visual information in tasks where the presented images are highly codable, and where verbal recoding is not obligatory, but that they will make use of phonological coding when the stimuli are not as easily codable visually in memory.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Avons, S. E., &Hanna, C. (1995). The memory-span deficit in children with specific reading disability: Is speech rate responsible?British Journal of Developmental Psychology,13, 303–311.
Avons, S. E., Wright, K. L., &Pammer, K. (1994). The word-length effect in probed and serial recall.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,47A, 207–231.
Baddeley, A. D. (1986).Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A. D., Chincotta, D., Stafford, L., &Turk, D. (2002). Is the word length effect in STM entirely attributable to output delay? Evidence from serial recognition.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,55A, 352–369.
Baddeley, A. D., Lewis, V. J., &Vallar, G. (1984). Exploring the articulatory loop.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,36A, 233–252.
Baddeley, A. D., Thomson, N., &Buchanan, M. (1975). Word length and the structure of short-term memory.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,14, 575–589.
Bradley, L., &Bryant, P. E. (1978). Difficulties in auditory organisation as a possible cause of reading backwardness.Nature,271, 746–747.
Brady, S., Shankweiler, D., &Mann, V. (1983). Speech perception and memory coding in relation to reading ability.Journal of Experimental Psychology,35, 345–367.
Brown, G. B. A., &Hulme, C. (1995). Modeling item length effects in memory span: No rehearsal needed?Journal of Memory & Language,54, 594–621.
Bruck, M., &Treiman, R. (1990). Phonological awareness and spelling in normal children and dyslexics: The case of initial consonant clusters.Journal of Experimental Psychology,50, 156–178.
Bryne, B., &Shea, P. (1979). Semantic and phonetic memory codes in beginning readers.Memory & Cognition,7, 333–338.
Carroll, J. B., Davies, P., &Richman, B. (1971).The word frequency book. New York: American Heritage.
Carroll, J. B., &White, M. N. (1973). Word frequency and age of acquisition as determiners of picture-naming latency.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,25, 85–95.
Conrad, R. (1971). The chronology of the development of covert speech in children.Developmental Psychology,5, 398–405.
Ehri, L. C., &Wilce, L. S. (1985). Movement into reading: Is the first stage of printed word learning visual or phonetic?Reading Research Quarterly,20, 163–179.
Elliott, C. D., Murray, D. J., &Pearson, L. S. (1977).The British abilities scales Test of Word Reading. Windsor, U.K.: NFER Nelson.
Foorman, B., &Liberman, D. (1989). Visual and phonological processing of words: A comparison of good and poor readers.Journal of Learning Disabilities,22, 349–355.
Frith, U. (1985). Beneath the surface of developmental dyslexia. In K. E. Patterson, J. C. Marshall, & M. Coltheart (Eds.),Surface dyslexia: Neuropsychological and cognitive studies of phonological reading (pp. 301–330). London: Erlbaum.
Gathercole, S. E., &Hitch, G. J. (1993). Developmental changes in short-term memory: A revised working memory perspective. In A. F. Collins, S. E. Gathercole, M. A. Conway, & P. E. Morris (Eds.),Theories of memory (pp. 189–209). Hove, U.K.: Erlbaum.
Gough, P. B., &Hillinger, M. L. (1980). Learning to read: An unnatural act.Bulletin of the Orton Society,30, 179–196.
Hall, J. W., Wilson, K. P., Humphreys, M. S., Tinzmann, M. B., &Bowyer, P. M. (1983). Phonemic-similarity effects in good vs. poor readers.Memory & Cognition,11, 520–527.
Hayes, D. S., &Schulze, S. A. (1977). Visual encoding in preschoolers’ serial retention.Child Development,48, 1066–1070.
Henry, L. A. (1991). The effects of word length and phonemic similarity in young children’s short-term memory.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,43A, 35–52.
Hitch, G. J., &Halliday, M. S. (1983). Working memory in children.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Series B,302, 325–340.
Hitch, G. J., Halliday, M. S., Dodd, A., &Littler, J. E. (1989). Development of rehearsal in short-term memory: Differences between pictorial and spoken stimuli.British Journal of Developmental Psychology,7, 347–362.
Hitch, G. J., Halliday, M. S., &Littler, J. E. (1993). Development of memory span for spoken words: The role of rehearsal and item identification processes.British Journal of Developmental Psychology,11, 159–169.
Hitch, G. J., Halliday, S., Schaafstal, A. M., &Schraagen, J. M. C. (1988). Visual working memory in young children.Memory & Cognition,16, 120–132.
Hitch, G. J., Woodin, M. E., &Baker, S. (1989). Visual and phonological components of working memory in children.Memory & Cognition,17, 175–185.
Holligan, C., &Johnston, R. S. (1988). The use of phonological information by good and poor readers in memory and reading tasks.Memory & Cognition,16, 522–532.
Hulme, C. (1984). Developmental differences in the effects of acoustic similarity on memory span.Developmental Psychology,4, 650–652.
Hulme, C. (1987). The effects of acoustic similarity on memory in children: A comparison between visual and auditory presentation.Applied Cognitive Psychology,1, 45–51.
Hulme, C., &Mackenzie, S. (1992).Working memory and severe learning difficulties. Hove, U.K.: Erlbaum.
Hulme, C., Thomson, N., Muir, C., &Lawrence, A. (1984). Speech rate and the development of short-term memory span.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,47, 72–87.
Hulme, C., &Tordoff, V. (1989). Working memory development: The effects of speech rate, word length and acoustic similarity on serial recall.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,47, 72–87.
Johnston, R. S. (1982). Phonological coding in dyslexic readers.British Journal of Psychology,73, 455–460.
Johnston, R. S., &Anderson, M. (1998). Memory span, naming speed and memory strategies in poor and normal readers.Memory,6, 143–163.
Johnston, R. S., &Conning, A. (1990). The effects of overt and covert rehearsal on the emergence of the phonological similarity effect in 5-year-old children.British Journal of Developmental Psychology,8, 411–418.
Johnston, R. S., Johnson, C., &Gray, C. (1987). The emergence of the word length effect in young children: The effects of overt and covert rehearsal.British Journal of Developmental Psychology,5, 243–248.
Johnston, R. S., Rugg, M. D., &Scott, T. (1987). Phonological similarity effects, memory span and developmental reading disorders: The nature of the relationship.British Journal of Psychology,78, 205–211.
Jorm, A. F. (1983). Specific reading retardation and working memory: A review.British Journal of Psychology,74, 311–342.
Jorm, A. F., &Share, D. L. (1983). Phonological recoding and reading acquisition.Applied Psycholinguistics,4, 103–147.
Kail, R. V. (1984).The development of memory in children (2nd ed.). New York: Freeman.
Mann, V. A., Liberman, I. Y., &Shankweiler, D. (1980). Children’s memory for sentences and word strings in relation to reading ability.Memory & Cognition,8, 329–335.
Maxwell, A. E. (1959). A factor analysis of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.Journal of Educational Psychology,29, 237–241.
McDougall, S., Hulme, C., Ellis, A., &Monk, A. (1994). Learning to read: The role of short-term memory and phonological skills.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,58, 112–133.
Murray, D. J. (1968). Articulation and acoustic confusability in shortterm memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology,78, 679–684.
Nelson, D. L., &Brooks, D. H. (1973). Functional independence of pictures and verbal memory codes.Journal of Experimental Psychology,98, 44–48.
Nicholson, R. (1981). The relationship between memory span and processing speed. In M. Friedman, J. P. Das, & N. Connor (Eds.),Intelligence and learning (pp. 179–184). New York: Plenum.
Rack, J. (1985). Orthographic and phonetic encoding in normal and dyslexic readers.British Journal of Psychology,76, 325–340.
Rugel, R. P. (1974). WISC subtest scores of disabled readers: A review with respect to Bannatyne’s recategorization.Journal of Learning Disabilities,7, 55.
Sattler, J. M. (1982).Assessment of children’s intelligence and special abilities. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Seymour, P. H. K., &Porpodas, C. (1980). Lexical and non-lexical processing of spelling in dyslexia. In U. Frith (Ed.),Cognitive processes in spelling. London: Academic Press.
Shankweiler, D., Liberman, I. Y., Mark, I., Fowler, C., &Fischer, F. (1979). The speech code and learning to read.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,5, 531–545.
Snowling, M. J. (1980). The development of grapheme-phoneme correspondences in normal and dyslexic readers.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,29, 294–305.
Swanson, H. L. (1984). Semantic and verbal memory codes in learningdisabled readers.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,37, 124–140.
Swanson, H. L. (1987). Verbal coding deficits in learning-disabled readers: Remembering pictures and words. In H. L. Swanson (Ed.),Memory and learning disabilities (Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Suppl. 2, pp. 123–304). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Torgesen, J. K. (1978). Memorization processes in reading-disabled children.Journal of Educational Psychology,69, 471–478.
Torgesen, J. K., &Goldman, T. (1977). Verbal rehearsal and shortterm memory in reading-disabled children.Child Development,48, 56–60.
Vellutino, F. R. (1977). Alternative conceptualization of dyslexia: Evidence in support of a verbal deficit hypothesis.Harvard Educational Review,47, 334–354.
Vellutino, F. R. (1979).Dyslexia: Theory and research. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Vellutino, F. R., Pruzek, R., Steger, J. A., &Meshoulam, U. (1973). Immediate visual recall in poor readers as a function of orthographic-linguistic familiarity.Cortex,9, 368–384.
Vellutino, F. R., &Scanlon, D. M. (1987). Linguistic coding and reading ability. In S. Rosenberg (Ed.),Advances in applied psycholinguistics (pp. 1–69). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wechsler, D. (1974).Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. New York: Psychological Corp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The work was conducted while A.M.M. was a PhD student at the University of St. Andrews.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McNeil, A.M., Johnston, R.S. Word length, phonemic, and visual similarity effects in poor and normal readers. Memory & Cognition 32, 687–695 (2004). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195859
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195859