579 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A new model of immediate serial recall is presented: the primacy model. The primacy model stores order information by means of the assumption that the strength of activation of successive list items decreases across list position to form a primacy gradient. Ordered recall is supported by a repeated cycle of operations involving a noisy choice of the most active item followed by suppression of the chosen item. Word-length and list-length effects are attributed to a decay process that occurs both during input, when effective rehearsal is prevented, and during output. The phonological similarity effect is attributed to a second stage of processing at which phonological confusions occur. The primacy model produces accurate simulations of the effects of word length, list length, and phonological similarity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)761-781
Number of pages21
JournalPsychological Review
Volume105
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 1998

Keywords

  • SHORT-TERM-MEMORY
  • WORD-LENGTH
  • ORDER INFORMATION
  • DIGIT SPAN
  • ARTICULATORY LOOP
  • LETTER STRINGS
  • SUFFIX
  • ITEM
  • MODALITY
  • SIMILARITY

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The primacy model: A new model of immediate serial recall'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this