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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 761-781 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Psychological Review |
Volume | 105 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 1998 |
Keywords
- SHORT-TERM-MEMORY
- WORD-LENGTH
- ORDER INFORMATION
- DIGIT SPAN
- ARTICULATORY LOOP
- LETTER STRINGS
- SUFFIX
- ITEM
- MODALITY
- SIMILARITY