Abstract
Typically, recall of the last of a list of auditory items greatly exceeds recall of the last of a list of visual items. This modality effect has been found in serial recall, free recall, and recall using the distractor paradigm in which each to-be-remembered item is preceded and followed by distractor activity. One source of the auditory advantage may be visual interference that reduces recall of visual stimuli. In three experiments, sources of visual interference were minimized. Although this manipulation reduced the modality effect, it did not eliminate the effect.
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This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant BNS 8416300 to Arthur Glenberg. Experiment 1 was reported at the 1985 Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association in Chicago.
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Glenberg, A.M., Eberhardt, K.A. & Belden, T.M. The role of visual interference in producing the long-term modality effect. Memory & Cognition 15, 504–510 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198384
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198384