Abstract
That phonologically similar words in a short-term memory test are more difficult to recall than phonologically dissimilar words is a well-known phenomenon. This effect is thephonological similarity decrement. In the present study, we examined whether this phonological similarity decrement is present when additional semantic information is available, as in a reading span test, as compared with a standard presentation, or in the context of an operation span test. The results revealed a phonological similarity facilitation. Phonologically similar words were remembered better than phonologically dissimilar words.
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This research was supported in part by Grant ARMY-DASW01-99- K-0001 from the Army Research Institute, awarded to the second author.
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Copeland, D.E., Radvansky, G.A. Phonological similarity in working memory. Memory & Cognition 29, 774–776 (2001). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200480
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200480