Phonological similarity effects in simple and complex word spans

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………… Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………… Chapter I: Introduction Working memory theory…………………………………………………………… …….8 Some phenomena found in working memory………………………………………………13 Simple and complex span tasks …………………………………………………………….15 Phonological similarity effect ……………………………………………………… ……19 Study by Copeland and Radvansky…………………………………………… ………… 22 Context Availability Model…………………………………………………… ………… 25 Motivations for the current study………………………………………………………… 32 General Predictions………………………………………………………… …………… 35 Chapter II: Pilot Study …….…………………………………………………… ……… 36 Method…………………………………………………………………………….…….….37 Participants………………………………………………………….………….… 37 Design….………………………………………………………… ……………….37 Material….………………………………………………………………………….37 Procedures………………………………………………….…………… 39 Scoring………………………………………………………………………………….….41 Results…………………………………………………………………………… ………43 Error Analysis…………………………………………………………………………… 46 Discussion……………………………………………………………………… ……… 49 Chapter III: Experiment I………………………………………………………………….53 Method…………………………………………………………………………………….53 Participants……………………………………………………………………… 53 Design ………………………………………………………………….…… .53 Material….…………………………………………………………………….… 54 Procedure………………………………………………………………………………….55 Apparatus and Scoring…………………… …………………………………………… 57 Results…………………………………………………………………………………… 57 Analysis across trials…………………………………………………………………… 61 Discussion…………………………………………………………… 64 Chapter IV: Experiment II……………………………………………………………… 68 Method…………………………………………………………………………………….69 Participants……………………………………………………………………… 69 Design………………………………………………………………………… .70 Material…………………………………………………………………………….70 Procedure………………………………………………………………………………… 74 Scoring………………………………………………………………………………… 75 Results………………………………………………………………………………… .75 Discussion………………………………………………………………………………… 78 Chapter V: General Discussion…………………………………………………………… 81 Summary of results for experiment…………………………………………………………81 Error Patterns……………………………………………………………………………….84 Scoring procedure………………………………………………………………………… 85 Reversal of the phonological similarity effect……………… .87 Contextual value of sentences……………………………………………………… … 89 Relevance of the findings for reading span task………………………………………… 90 Working Memory………………………………………………………………………… 90 Limitations of the current study and future directions…………………………………… 91 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………94 References…………………………………………………………… .95 Appendixes…………………………………………………………… ……………… ….101 Appendix A: Word lists used in Pilot study…………………………………… …101 Appendix B: List of words changed for Experiment I………….……………… 112 Appendix C: Word list used for word span task in Experiment I 113 Appendix D: Sentences for reading span task in Experiment I .122 Appendix E: Sample questionnaire used for Experiment II ………… …… … 133 Appendix F: Final questionnaire used for Experiment II 136 Appendix G: High context sentences used in Experiment II……………………….138 Appendix H: Low context sentences used in Experiment II……………………….143 List of Tables Table 1: Average means and standard deviations for word lists used in Pilot study………38 Table 2: Means of Absolute span scores of recall for similar and dissimilar conditions in pilot study…………………………………………………………………………………………44 Table 3: Means of Total span scores of recall for similar and dissimilar conditions in pilot study ………………………………………………………………………………………………45 Table 4: Error analysis Pilot study ……………………………………… .48 Table 5: Average means and standard deviations for word lists used in Experiment I… 55 Table 6: Means similar and dissimilar conditions in word and reading span tasks……….57 Table 7: Error analysis Experiment I…………………………… ………………………60 Table 8: Average means and standard deviations for word lists used in Experiment II….70 Table 9: Serial recall proportion across list type and context conditions ……………….75 Table 10: Error analysis Experiment II…………………………………………………….77 List of Figures Figure 1: A simple representation of the working memory model by Baddeley and Hitch 10 Figure 2: Means similar and dissimilar conditions with Total span scores……………… …44 Figure 3: Means similar and dissimilar conditions with Absolute span scores….……… .46 Figure 4: Means for word and reading span using Absolute span task………………… … 58 Figure 5: Means for word and reading span using Total span task………………………… 58 Figure 6: Analysis across list lengths for word span…………………………………………62 Figure 7: Analysis across list lengths for reading span………………………………………63 Figure 8: Mean proportion of recall of similar and dissimilar words……………………… 76 Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Winston Goh for his immense and valuable help and support His guidance has helped me achieve a deeper knowledge of the subject Also, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to David Copeland for sending me the samples of the materials used in his study A few other people deserve to be thanked for their assistance in preparing this thesis My sincere thanks to the reviewers who provided good feedback which helped me shape this study Also I would like to mention my parents who gave me support in every way possible Lastly, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude towards National University of Singapore for giving me an opportunity to put my thoughts and ideas to practice Abstract Memory span for a list of phonologically similar words is generally worse than memory span for a list of phonologically dissimilar words, a finding that is called the phonological similarity effect This finding has often been cited as evidence for the use of phonological coding in short-term memory and working memory However, some studies have demonstrated a reversal of the phonological similarity effect under certain conditions One such condition is the use of more complex memory span tasks such as reading span It has been suggested that sentence contexts may provide additional retrieval cues that may overcome the detrimental effects of phonological similarity The present study examined this hypothesis by manipulating the sentence contexts of the reading span materials A pilot study confirmed the phonological similarity decrement in a word span task, showing a higher recall for dissimilar sounding words than the similar sounding words This was followed by Experiment I which consisted of a word span and a reading span task The results showed that unlike the word span task, phonological similarity facilitation effect was observed in the reading span task Further extension of the study led to Experiment II which tried to investigate the effect of context on the recall of the participants on a reading span task employing high and low context sentences No evidence showing phonological similarity facilitation was found; in fact, the standard phonological similarity decrement in memory span performance was observed with high context sentences Chapter I: Introduction Working memory theory The expression ‘working memory’ was initially used by Miller, Galanter and Pibram (1960) in the book titled ‘Plans and the structure of behavior’ According to the authors, the study of working memory and its concepts are recognized as a milestone in the early development of cognitive psychology, and interestingly working memory was assigned a central role to this account Working memory collects different information in the mind of the individual at one point of time and then relates it to other things It could be defined as a system which is responsible for the brief storage and management of the information essential for accomplishing complex cognitive actions like learning a task, reasoning out things, and comprehension of text, etc (adapted from MedicineNet.com) This system could thus be understood to be involved in the selection, initiation, and termination of information-processing functions such as encoding, storing, and retrieving data Such a system seems to be very helpful if one is striving to read sentences whose meaning can only be deciphered after it has been fully read (Baddeley, 1999) Other tasks which require a similar system are the processes of performing mental mathematics, reasoning out things, and also times when one is faced with a task of problem solving (Baddeley, 1999) The roots of working memory can be traced from the theories of short-term memory (Andrade, 2001; Baddeley & Hitch, 2000) which primarily focused on the storage of information on a temporary basis Discussion regarding the role of short term memory has more often concluded the fact that short term memory functioned as working memory (Andrade, 2001) In contemporary theories of working memory, the theory of Miller et al., (1960) is not widely mentioned Traces of origin of the concepts of working memory could be found in the studies by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) Their study contained a thorough analysis of views related to the structure and the functions of human memory The analysis of their study postulated three main components involved in the structure They were a sensory register, a short term store, and a long term store Atkinson and Shiffrin were of the view that the short term store could be considered to be ‘working memory’ which receives inputs from the sensory register and the long term store Both the original accounts presented by Miller et al (1960) and that by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971) demonstrated what Baddeley (1986) later defined as the ‘general concept of working memory’ Baddeley and Hitch (1974) identified three main components of working memory as depicted in Figure I • A central executive • Articulatory loop (also known as phonological loop) holding information in the phonological form • A visuo-spatial scratch pad (now also known as visuo-spatial sketchpad) specialized for spatial and visual coding 10 VISUO – SPATIAL SKETCH PAD CENTRAL EXECUTIVE PHONOLOGICAL LOOP Figure1: A simple representation of the Working Memory Model by Baddeley and Hitch Adapted from Baddeley (1999) The central executive component is the most important one and its functions included regulation of information within working memory, and retrieving of information from other systems like long term memory and the processing and storage of information The cognitive tasks that appear to involve the central executive include mental arithmetic, recall of digits, logical reasoning, semantic verification and recollection of events from long term memory There have been a number of advances in understanding the central executive component of working memory (Baddeley & Logie, 1999) Much of the current work on the regulatory functions of the central executive is guided by a model developed by Shallice (1982, see also Norman & Shallice, 1986) In their model action is controlled by two ways Well learned or automatic activities 133 APPENDIX E Sample Questionnaire used for Experiment II Instructions Read each sentence and rate the predictability of the last word of each sentence using a point scale below Predictability of the last word is generally determined by whether you can think of any other words that could replace that last word in the context of the sentence 1…………2…………3…………4…………5…………6…………7 Highly Highly Un predictive Predictive An example of a sentence in which the last word is highly predictive is: Our eyes were tricked by an optical illusion This is because it is difficult to find another word to replace the word illusion within the context of the given sentence On the other hand, an example of a sentence in which the last word is highly un predictive is: We paid a lot for the funeral This is because the word funeral can be easily replaced by the other words such as car, ticket, etc within the context of the sentence There are a total of 55 sentences Please rate them according the 7- point scale The author of the novel wrote for years before his book became very fat After the serious accident, the car was sent to the garage as it had been torn Exhausted after the day's work, he came back to his house and slept on his mat All the school children trained in cooking food took part in the run Each year many sharks are killed and their fins are used to make seed Due to excessive exercises, the old woman started to have some trouble in her lung The crew took all the precautionary measures so that the aircraft does not sink As the family returned the thief could not find the files which he wanted to hack 134 For the charity for the AIDS victims the celebrity was praised for his role In the newly released romantic movie the girl's father was the main thorn Infants should not be fed the whole day but should only be given food when they are in need After the examinations, the award for the best student was announced on the basis of the toss The army was given a go ahead signal by the spies' wink The army officer could be clearly distinguished from the crow because of his hat More than fifty percent of the students in school are fond of the game of short putt It would have been a different world if many events of the history could be taken back The child dropped the dinner on the blanket which he had worn The child dropped the glass jar on the floor but it only had a minor dent The child pushed and dropped the table fan from the place where it was The family could not survive after it suffered a big financial blow and lost cent The dessert served at the dinner was made from the fruit named floss Before leaving the job the employee had many tasks to pack The color of the all the ripe mangoes available in the market was pink The children were dying of food poisoning but there was nothing that the doctors could feed The child woke up from its nap and hurt itself when it sat The family was on a cleaning spree and planned to make the house free from weed The fly was killed when it was hit with a wooden pole The glass plate used for the dinner broke from the place where it was bent The job of cleaning the rooms and the corridor was given to the nun The most required details in the form can be marked with a cross The new dress was worn many times and it had to be disposed because it got cut When the computer stopped working, the family called someone to mourn 135 The new pair of shoes bought for the girl's school drill had a small bow at the sole The old beggar was hungry and was begging people to give him nut When the child did not complete his homework he was beaten with a gun The party arranged at the five star hotel was for celebrating the cricket team's loss The steak served was raw and in each bite it got stuck in the tongue The small child choked on a chocolate and was unable to blink The pet of the family was punished for the cake which it stole The student did not finish his homework and got scolded by his boss The students were surprised to see their exam results when their paper was flung The teacher who was retiring from schools was given an award for her deed The sudden downpour on the day of the picnic ruined their goal The whole company was excited when their latest product was born The old man was thrown out of the restaurant when he could not pay the rent When comparing different types of pets there are features on which the cats lack We could hear thunder only after the lightening went To keep the money safely the old man kept the money inside the rack Thieves entered the house and stole all the valuable since the house door was not shut The young baby was drowning in the pond but was saved by a cat The woman who was hit by a car could not walk because she had hurt her butt The whole day's visit to the hospital to meet cancer patients was fun When the child playing on the street came in front of the car then the horn was rung The new furniture which was to be shifted, got spoilt outside because of the sun While surfing on the net the child found a very beautiful link 136 APPENDIX F Final Questionnaire used for Experiment II Please read the sentences given below and fill in the blanks In the end of each sentence you can find three words provided in parentheses Out of the three words you are required to choose just one, which you think is the best to fill up the blank Please encircle the word chosen by you Please not encircle more than one word for each of the sentences The passengers are warned regarding the platform and the train …………… (lag, gap, space) All the food items available at the restaurant were not mentioned in the …………… (bill, menu, catalogue) My friends could not attend their classes as they were out on …………… (par, vacation, holiday) The vegetarian dish could not be eaten as it did not have any …………… (thorn, curry, salt) In the AIDS charity function the celebrity donated a big ………… (cent, amount, sum) Everything became clearly visible when the electricity of the house …………… (went, came, restored) The most expensive golf kit displayed at the exhibition belonged to the ………… (champion, kid, player) For any official function the required dress code is ………… (rag, formals, casuals) On her birthday the daughter did not cut the cake and waited for her father to ………… (wish, bless, come) 10 The parents of the newly born baby understood that the child was crying due to ……… (stress, hunger, noise) 11 Parts of the tricycle were fixed very well so that it could not …………… (break, skid, sink) 12 Due to the good care by the gardener the plants in the garden were ………… (born, green, flowering) 13 In the dolphin lagoon, various tricks were performed by the ………… (dolphin, stag, fishes) 14 The dessert served at the dinner was made from the fruit named …………… (floss, mango, apple) 15 In the play schools small children are taught how to play short …………… (games, drills, putt) 16 For a sore throat it is good to drink soup which is …………… (cold, hot, steaming) 17 The heights of the tallest and the shortest man in the Guinness book of records are… (same, different, incomparable) 137 18 The demand for the dairy products decreased when their prices …………… (fell, increased, rose) 19 The whole day's visit to the hospital to meet cancer patients was ……………… (fun, exhausting, tiring) 20 When the student was found bunking his class then he was beaten with a …………… (ruler, pole, stick) 21 The old person drank too much wine while sitting in the ………… (bar, toilet, train) 22 In terms of direction the continent of America lies to Singapore's …………… (corner, west, side) 23 The smell of the food rotting in the water spread from under the ………… (tree, lid, table) 24 In the hearts of people a good leader's place is always hard to ………… (meet, fill, hit) 25 The quantity of food served at the second hotel was not more but ………… (sour, less, tasteless) 26 The color of the baby's skin when it was born premature was …………… (pink, green, golden) 27 When the boy saw the girl coming he took the opportunity to ………… (cry, wink, walk) 28 One of the most popular sports in the Olympics is the short ………… (tennis, putt, story) 29 The award for being the best student was another feather in his ………… (cap, shoe, dress) 30 The protective lining of a plant cell that protects it is called a cell …………… (point, sap, root) 31 For the survival of nearly all types of plants oxygen is a …………… (favor, must, asset) 32 The little girl wanted to grow a plant in her garden so she sowed a ………… (tree, seed, leaf) 33 The employees' excuse for not attending the annual meeting was ………… (lame, unwanted, demanding) 138 APPENDIX G High context sentences used in Experiment II The land which was confiscated by the government was later given back The military’s computer system has strong defenses and is difficult to hack There are a lot of technical advancements that developing nations lack While shifting to a new house there were a lot of things to pack To keep the books away from the child they were kept on the rack Thinking it had valuables the boy snatched the old lady's bag The sleep of the person got disturbed due to jet lag At the hotel the waiter cleaned the table with a rag The committee was unhappy after their well laid plans hit a snag The male of most species of deer is called stag The old person drank too much wine while sitting in the bar After the businessman was mugged the culprits fled in a car Walking to the school from the house was impossible as it was too far The student who did not take tuition was not able to perform up to par The girl's face became ugly after her accident because of the nasty scar The wrestler was able to straighten the rod that was previously bent Men who value money will make full use of every cent The tourist bus escaped serious damage and only had a minor dent Due to heavy losses in business the family couldn’t pay the house rent The police chased the suspects of the robbery, wherever they went To win the dance competition the girl tried to perform her best The bird laid eggs on the roof where it had built a nest Farmers spray pesticides in the fields to keep the crop safe from the pest 139 In the exams the knowledge obtained by the students is put to the test In terms of direction the continent of America lies to Singapore's west At the auction I was lucky to get an expensive gift for a very low bid The murderer was shot at in revenge for what he did The parents of the girl who won the prize were proud of their kid The smell of the food rotting in the water spread from under the lid The motor bike was speeding on the slippery road and started to skid The person was unemployed from a long time so he couldn’t pay his utility bill In the hearts of people a good leader's place is always hard to fill The highland resort where we went to stay was up the hill Rice is sent to the stores after being cleaned at the mill The couple left their house and got married against their parents' will A common way of giving greetings is to say God bless The quantity of food served at the second hotel was not more but less After playing in their house the children turned the living room into a mess The entire propaganda about the actor was viewed in the wrong light by the press The girl could not perform well in her exams due to stress There was something in his eye which made him blink While surfing on the internet every click leads to another link The color of the baby's skin when it was born premature was pink Due to the captain's quick reflex actions the ship did not sink When the boy saw the girl coming he took the opportunity to wink The parents were happy with their life when their first child was born A minute's silence to pray for the departed souls is a way to mourn The girl started bleeding profusely when she was pricked by a thorn Due to the fight between the boys in the class their clothes were torn The waiter dropped the drink onto the dress the bride had worn The non performers in the company are generally disliked by their boss 140 The incorrect answers in examination papers are marked by a cross A popular flavoring on bread that people like is chicken floss The tsunami which disrupted life caused a lot of property loss In a cricket match, which team will bat and which will bowl is decided by a toss The old man did not dispose his cigarette in the bin and dropped the butt By the order of the municipal commission the excess trees were cut The squirrels near the tree in the garden were quarrelling over a cashew nut One of the most popular sports in the Olympics is the short putt The guests returned home as they found the host's door shut The award for being the best student was another feather in his cap The tired baby wanted to sleep and so lay on his mother's lap It is easy to locate places in an unknown city by making use of a map Normally after taking a heavy lunch people feel drowsy and take a nap The protective lining of a plant cell that protects it is called a cell sap The mouse which entered the house was chased by the cat Eating too much oily and rich food can make a person very fat Magicians have a common trick in which they take out a rabbit from the hat The key to the main door of the house was kept under the door mat The old rusted chair kept in the garden broke when a man sat The stale bread sold by the shopkeeper had a very hard crust Giving the death sentence for a small theft will not be considered just For the survival of nearly all types of plants oxygen is a must Water and oxygen reacting in the atmosphere make iron objects rust The minister's actions regarding the financial issues violated the public trust It is a general perception that speaking the truth is a good deed The single mother was unemployed and she had too many mouths to feed For all humans living in the world shelter is a basic need The little girl wanted to grow a plant in her garden so she sowed a seed 141 The gardener worked hard in the garden all day to remove the weed The concert was held by a musician of international fame Amongst the Brazilians soccer is a very popular game The employees' excuse for not attending the annual meeting was lame The dresses the twins wore for their birthdays were exactly the same The lions which are kept and trained for the circus are tame While coming up the stairs the old lady slipped and fell It is preached by all religions that bad people go to hell Any good merchandise needs no promotion as it is very easy to sell Due to the efficiency of the management system the meetings went well The parents of the young girl rushed to her room after they heard her yell The dish broke into small pieces when it hit the wall after it was flung The hanger in the cupboard fell when heavy clothes were The organ that allows mammals to breathe air is called the lung The girl was watching a horror movie and got scared when the door bell rung The dog licked the milk which was spilled on the floor with its tongue The students who went for the summer camp had a lot of fun The senior minister who was coming out from his office was shot by a gun The administrative head of all the convent schools is a nun To contribute for the tsunami victims the celebrities participated in a charity run The biggest natural source of energy for our planet is the sun If one wants to be successful in life then one must have a goal The flag at the office was hoisted by a string attached to its pole The actor who got the award became famous after his memorable role The friction inside the shoe was increased by its rough sole Police after much effort managed to recover the stuff that the thief stole If one is careless about health in the winter then it is easy to catch a cold Money misplaced by the cashier was found stuck to the envelope's fold 142 At the dinner with the royal family all the cutlery was made of gold To bake the cake for the birthday the batter was put in an oval mold When the girl went to buy her favorite outfit it had already been sold 143 APPENDIX H Low context sentences used in Experiment II The concert hall was very crowded after all the invited guests went back When the thief found the house door open he went inside to hack Money is the only thing which most of the millionaires lack After returning from the vacation they put aside their luggage to pack To keep the money safely the old man kept the money inside the rack The food which was left after the dinner was kept in a bag The passengers are warned regarding the platform and the train lag For any official function the required dress code is rag The space suit which the astronaut wore had a snag In the dolphin lagoon, various tricks were performed by the stag The child wanted to celebrate his birthday so his parents took him to the bar The infant was unable to walk so his parents carried him in a car The young boy infected with a dreaded disease could not live very far My friends could not attend their classes as they were out on par When the waiter dropped sauce on the guest's shirt, it left a scar The newly purchased furniture had to be returned as it was bent In the AIDS charity function the celebrity donated a big cent The dress which the birthday girl wore had a small dent The man could not buy the ticket as he did not have money to pay the rent Everything became clearly visible when the electricity of the house went The girl cooked food for the dinner and tried to make the food best After performing their parts in the shows the animals go back to their nest Clothes drying outside were kept in the room to protect them from the pest During a moving out sale the goods at the store were put on test All the students of the school went for a picnic to the west 144 Admissions in the university were given according to the student's past bid The most expensive golf kit displayed at the exhibition belonged to the kid In the promotional offer the bicycles were sold with an extra lid The cat sitting in the basket jumped when the basket skid After the death of the owner his property was divided according to what his will did All the food items available at the restaurant were not mentioned in the bill Due to very long queues at the counters the forms were difficult to fill When the cat was being looked for by the children, it climbed up the hill For her birthday the girl went to buy her dress at the nearby clothes mill The working conditions of his company were laid out in his will On her birthday the daughter did not cut the cake and waited for her father to bless In the convent there is rule that the length of the girls' skirts should be less The purchase of new clothes by the Hollywood actress, added to her mess The new comedy series shown on the television was an effort of the press The parents of the newly born baby understood that the child was crying due to stress When the boy fell from his cycle and hurt his leg he was unable to blink On the boy's tenth birthday his parents bought him an electrical link The color of the all the ripe mangoes available in the market was pink Parts of the tricycle were fixed very well so that it could not sink Due to the heavy rains the children could not go outside their house and wink Due to the good care by the gardener the plants in the garden were born When the computer stopped working, the family called someone to mourn The vegetarian dish could not be eaten as it did not have any thorn After the serious accident, the car was sent to the garage as it had been torn The tissue paper roll was thrown in the trash after it was worn The student did not finish his homework and got scolded by his boss The directions to the airport were given on a cross Generally in the events the athletes are rewarded after their loss 145 After the examinations, the award for the best student was given on the basis of her toss The dessert served at the dinner was made from the fruit named floss The woman who was hit by a car could not walk because she had hurt her butt During rains the people traveling by boats had to wait long as the river was cut In the play schools small children are taught how to play short putt The crowd entered the house of the celebrity as the door was shut The old beggar was hungry and was begging people to give him a nut Children's dog looked very cute since the day it started wearing the red cap The owner found the dog hungry and gave it food which it ate from the owner's lap All the details of the courses in the university were given on the map The old man sitting under the tree was hungry and wanted a nap The butterflies land on various plants to collect the flower's sap The young baby was drowning in the pond and was saved by a cat After being filled with air the pink color balloon became fat The sky divers returned safely to the ground with the help of their hat Attracted by the sweet smell flies started hovering around the mat The child woke up from its nap and hurt itself when it sat For a sore throat its good to drink soup which is cold The cake for the birthday girl's party was packed in a fold The crockery used at the food stalls in the university are all made of gold All the important papers in the office were kept inside a mold The family went to view the new house which they had just sold The curry served at the restaurant for dinner did not have a very good crust For a large number of guests the arrangements done for the food was not just For diabetes patients, eating sweets and chocolates is a must Canned food when once opened should be consumed quickly before it can rust When the child failed in his exams, he could not live up his parent's trust In the theatre the drama was judged the best based on the good deed 146 The children went to the restaurant but they did not know what to feed The rich businessman donated a huge sum of money when he was in a need The food cooked for the guests tasted very bland without seed The bread was not good for eating as it was covered with weed After a big argument with the boss the employee lost his fame Amongst the young generation clubbing is a favorite game The poor old man did not get food for many days and so he became lame The heights of the tallest and the shortest man in the Guinness book of records are same Ferocious animals like lions become man eaters because they are tame The demand for the dairy products decreased when their prices fell For the young couple a house with eight bedrooms seemed like hell The policies planned by the government were very difficult to sell After the Television actor got his make up done he did not look well When the girl found that she had failed her exams she started to yell The students were surprised to see their exam results when their papers were flung A new carpet was put in the same living room where all the furniture was The old man fell from the stairs and fractured his lung A loud noise was heard when the glasses were rung The lion chased the deer and caught it with its tongue The whole day's visit to the hospital to meet cancer patients was fun When the child did not complete his homework he was beaten with a gun The wedding ceremony of the couple was performed by the nun All the school children trained in cooking food took part in the run The children playing outside got wet because of the sun The child imitated his mother and in return received a goal When the student was found bunking his class then he was beaten with a pole In the dog show my dog was judged best based on his role Shoes worn by the child were not matching with the sole 147 The company's employee was rewarded for all the goods he stole [...]... containing similar sounding words 15 As the present study will focus on the phonological similarity effect, the other phenomena associated with the working memory will not be discussed further Before discussing the findings associated with the phonological similarity effect, a discussion of the memory span tasks used in working memory span tasks used in working memory studies is required Simple and complex. .. both words and non words for analyzing the existence of phonological similarity effect This effect was studied in the tasks of serial recall, including a serial recognition and item identification task The two serial recall experiments 21 demonstrated a significant interaction effect between lexicality (words vs nonwords) and phonological similarity (phonological similar vs distinct lists) revealing... researchers exploring this field, that “working memory is those mechanisms or processes that are involved in the control, regulation and active maintenance of task relevant information in the service of complex cognition” (pg 1) Some phenomena found in working memory In the process of exploring the structure and functions of the working memory, a few phenomena associated with storage and processing of information... may be involved in activities like planning and executing spatial tasks, keeping track of changes in the visual perception of an individual and comprehending certain types of visual and verbal information 13 Working memory has been one of the most explored areas of research (e g., Nairne, 1996) Various studies have shed light on the structure, function and other aspects of working memory Miyake and Shah... participants showed the existence of the phonological similarity effect in the word span task but exactly opposite results in the reading span tasks The third experiment by Copeland and Radvansky (2001) aimed at reinforcing the idea that the content of the sentences in the reading span test contributed to the phonological similarity facilitation in the reading span tasks In this experiment, the researchers... Copeland and Radvansky (2001) in their study where they established the effect of phonological similarity decrement in the word span task and when extending the same to a reading span task it was observed that the effect of phonological similarity decrement had been converted to phonological similarity facilitation When the results were investigated further on an operation span task instead of reading... observed that simple span task (word span) could not predict reading comprehension abilities of the individual and also that the simple and the complex word span tasks do not exactly reflect the same structures, processes or strategies of the memory of individuals (LaPointe & Engle, 1990) In the simple span tasks, the participants were only required to retain items (words, letters or digits) in short term... reading the sentences and memorizing and recalling the words Having considered the reason suggesting that there is a possibility that the contextual clues played a significant role during the recall of the words in the reading span task, the study needed to be extended further to investigate whether context in fact had a role to play in this study or not Context Availability Model The study by Copeland... two components, the phonological store and the articulatory loop The phonological store includes the material in a phonological code and these codes decay as time passes (Baddeley & Gathercole, 1993) A process of rehearsal using the articulatory loop helps refresh the decaying representations in the phonological store and also maintains memory items Concerning the functions of the phonological loop it... reverse the phonological similarity effect In word span tasks, the knowledge that all the words within a list rhyme may presumably provide a cue to limit recall to words that have the same rhyme but may increase the confusion as the serial position of the words within the list This has been shown in the previous studies that manipulated word similarity on semantic (Poirier & St Aubin, 1995) and phonological ... be involved in activities like planning and executing spatial tasks, keeping track of changes in the visual perception of an individual and comprehending certain types of visual and verbal information... system and is used for a variety of purposes, including tasks involving planning or decision making, trouble shooting in situations in which the automatic processes appear to be running into difficulty,... important one and its functions included regulation of information within working memory, and retrieving of information from other systems like long term memory and the processing and storage of information