Publications
Text queries can be conducted by Author, Title, or Keyword.
Strategy in Auditory Recognition Memory
Source: Bull of Psychon Soc 1975;6(5):517-519.
Author: Toga AW
Abstract:
ABSTRACT: Six male and six female undergraduates were presented with lists of up to six digits in length, each followed by a probe digit. They then searched the memorized lists for the presence or absence of the test item. Reaction times (RTs) were used to gain insight into the strategies employed in high-speed recognition scanning. This study showed parallel increases of RTs for both positive and negative responses as a function of list length (LL). However, the serial position of the probe digit produced no significant differences in average RTs. The experiment supports the indication of a serial exhaustive, as opposed to self-terminating search in high-speed scanning for presence in immediate memory. METHOD: A tape consisting of 84 lists of single-digit numbers, 16 different lists for each of six list lengths, were recorded by the experimenter in a clear and distinct manner. The spoken digits were presented at a rate of one digit every 500msec. Each list of each list length was followed by a 1,500-msec delay, then by the presentation of a probe digit not exceeding 500msec. The digits for the various lists, as well as the probes, were selected from a table of random numbers, with the constraint that no digit was repeated in any given list. List lengths were 1-6 digits. The stimulus was made on magnetic recording tape. A quantitative measure of the stimulus was obtained using an audiometer calibrator. That background noise that was present included music and was utilized to determine the effect of ambient noise distraction. Each subject heard 14 lists for each the 6 lenghts used. The probe digit appeared randomly in half of the lists for each LL, and when it was present its serial position was varied systematically. The index finger of the preferred hand was used, and the yes and no buttons were changed from the right to the left side for alternating subjects. The stimulus presentation was randomly varied to the right and left ears. RESULTS: The total error rate was less than 1% and error analysis showed no effects of major independent variable. There is a positive and visually linear relationship between RT and the number of digits in the memory set. Both male and female RT functions increased linearly with list length, and the difference between them was significant. There was no difference between the music background trials and the no-music trials. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study coincide very closely with those of Wingfield (1973) in terms of the linear relation between mean RT and LL. The procedure used favored almost perfect performance because the design was concerned with the nature of the comparison and not the error rates. A quantitative measure of the extent of linearity, which evidences serial processing, is assessed by the correlation of the mean RTs and LLs. This study stresses the importance of methodological details and their effects on the results. However, the data presented suggest that the results are quite robust and that they can be generalized to a wider domain of conditions. Research has suggested the presence of 2 kinds of memory search that subjects use in the retrieval of information from short-term memory. One is a high-speed exhaustive scanning process, used to determine the presence of an item in the list, the other is a slow self-terminating scanning process used to determine the location of an item in the list. The assumption is that one must scan a list serially to retrieve information from it, even when it is contained in active memory. The present study supports this postulate, in that the subject was only required to determine the presence of the probe.
Source: Bull of Psychon Soc 1975;6(5):517-519.
Author: Toga AW
Abstract:
ABSTRACT: Six male and six female undergraduates were presented with lists of up to six digits in length, each followed by a probe digit. They then searched the memorized lists for the presence or absence of the test item. Reaction times (RTs) were used to gain insight into the strategies employed in high-speed recognition scanning. This study showed parallel increases of RTs for both positive and negative responses as a function of list length (LL). However, the serial position of the probe digit produced no significant differences in average RTs. The experiment supports the indication of a serial exhaustive, as opposed to self-terminating search in high-speed scanning for presence in immediate memory. METHOD: A tape consisting of 84 lists of single-digit numbers, 16 different lists for each of six list lengths, were recorded by the experimenter in a clear and distinct manner. The spoken digits were presented at a rate of one digit every 500msec. Each list of each list length was followed by a 1,500-msec delay, then by the presentation of a probe digit not exceeding 500msec. The digits for the various lists, as well as the probes, were selected from a table of random numbers, with the constraint that no digit was repeated in any given list. List lengths were 1-6 digits. The stimulus was made on magnetic recording tape. A quantitative measure of the stimulus was obtained using an audiometer calibrator. That background noise that was present included music and was utilized to determine the effect of ambient noise distraction. Each subject heard 14 lists for each the 6 lenghts used. The probe digit appeared randomly in half of the lists for each LL, and when it was present its serial position was varied systematically. The index finger of the preferred hand was used, and the yes and no buttons were changed from the right to the left side for alternating subjects. The stimulus presentation was randomly varied to the right and left ears. RESULTS: The total error rate was less than 1% and error analysis showed no effects of major independent variable. There is a positive and visually linear relationship between RT and the number of digits in the memory set. Both male and female RT functions increased linearly with list length, and the difference between them was significant. There was no difference between the music background trials and the no-music trials. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study coincide very closely with those of Wingfield (1973) in terms of the linear relation between mean RT and LL. The procedure used favored almost perfect performance because the design was concerned with the nature of the comparison and not the error rates. A quantitative measure of the extent of linearity, which evidences serial processing, is assessed by the correlation of the mean RTs and LLs. This study stresses the importance of methodological details and their effects on the results. However, the data presented suggest that the results are quite robust and that they can be generalized to a wider domain of conditions. Research has suggested the presence of 2 kinds of memory search that subjects use in the retrieval of information from short-term memory. One is a high-speed exhaustive scanning process, used to determine the presence of an item in the list, the other is a slow self-terminating scanning process used to determine the location of an item in the list. The assumption is that one must scan a list serially to retrieve information from it, even when it is contained in active memory. The present study supports this postulate, in that the subject was only required to determine the presence of the probe.