Memory functions for vowels and consonants: A reinterpretation of acoustic similarity effects

Memory functions for vowel sounds and for consonant sounds were separated in three experiments using immediate forward recall of six CV syllables. Effects normally associated with acoustic similarity, including poor order recall and the loss of recency and modality effects, were obtained with stimulus strings that were acoustically distinct though informationally redundant in that the same vowel sequence was repeated from trial to trial. The present data suggest that the observable effects of acoustic similarity may be a consequence of poor memory for the order of consonant sounds as opposed to vowel sounds, and force a re-evaluation of the available models of acoustic similarity effects.

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