Phonotactics, phonological neighborhoods, and working memory in spoken word recognition

1998 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 1758-1758 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Vitevich ◽  
Paul A. Luce
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Spoken Word Recognition ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Phonological Neighborhoods

scholarly journals Differences in Working Memory Capacity Affect Online Spoken Word Recognition: Evidence From Eye Movements

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 233121651983962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gal Nitsan ◽  
Arthur Wingfield ◽  
Limor Lavie ◽  
Boaz M Ben-David
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Spoken Word Recognition ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
High Load ◽  
Low Load

Individual differences in working memory capacity have been gaining recognition as playing an important role in speech comprehension, especially in noisy environments. Using the visual world eye-tracking paradigm, a recent study by Hadar and coworkers found that online spoken word recognition was slowed when listeners were required to retain in memory a list of four spoken digits (high load) compared with only one (low load). In the current study, we recognized that the influence of a digit preload might be greater for individuals who have a more limited memory span. We compared participants with higher and lower memory spans on the time course for spoken word recognition by testing eye-fixations on a named object, relative to fixations on an object whose name shared phonology with the named object. Results show that when a low load was imposed, differences in memory span had no effect on the time course of preferential fixations. However, with a high load, listeners with lower span were delayed by ∼550 ms in discriminating target from sound-sharing competitors, relative to higher span listeners. This follows an assumption that the interference effect of a memory preload is not a fixed value, but rather, its effect is greater for individuals with a smaller memory span. Interestingly, span differences affected the timeline for spoken word recognition in noise, but not offline accuracy. This highlights the significance of using eye-tracking as a measure for online speech processing. Results further emphasize the importance of considering differences in cognitive capacity, even when testing normal hearing young adults.

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