Interference and decay in very short-term memory

Abstract

Summary Four experiments were conducted comparing the effect of message length on the recall of simple and mixed messages of digits, letters, colors, and shapes, presented visually. (Thirty-five housewives served as Ss ). The total correct recall was inversely related to the message length, with slope independent of composition but with intercept determined by the materials presented. The amount lost due to the second kind of material in a message was related to the time taken to read this material.