The modality effect, sensory handicap, and compensatory functions

Abstract In the present study 84 subjects (48 normal, 24 deaf, and 12 blind subjects) participated in a free recall experiment. Modality of presentation (auditory, visual) as well as mode of response (oral, written) were manipulated as between-subjects variables. It was found that deaf subjects can compensate for their handicap in as much that written recall of visual short-term memory items was significantly better than for normal subjects. For oral recall of long-term memory positions the deaf performed worse than the normal hearing. The blind subjects' oral recall performance was on a par with the normal subjects' for written recall of auditory presented items, but the blind exhibited some signs of inferiority for the oral comparison. The output order data demonstrated that normal subjects recall visual items in a backward order and auditory items with a mixed strategy; the deaf exhibited mixed strategies and the blind displayed clear backward strategies. Neither output order nor recency-prerecency preference could account for the compensatory patterns. Finally, the task-dependent nature of the obtained data is discussed.

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