Estimating the Capacity of Phonological Short‐term Memory

Abstract

Two methods of assessing the capacity of phonological short‐term memory that minimize support from long‐term memory were compared in a sample of 7‐ and 8‐year‐old children. The children were tested on immediate serial recall of words and nonwords, and on the serial recognition of sequences composed of words and nonwords. Serial recognition scores were found to be highly related to children's accuracy of recall of nonwords composed of low‐probability phonotactic combinations, but were independent of the long‐term memory contributions to recall estimated in the serial recall experiment. Children with high vocabulary knowledge performed significantly better than low vocabulary children on both the recall and recognition measures. It is argued that the convergence of the two techniques lends substantial validity to their use as assessments of phonological storage capacity relatively free of long‐term memory influence, and that the crucial difference between children varying in vocabulary knowledge lies in this storage capacity rather than the differential availability and use of long‐term knowledge.