Bartlett, Cristy 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7763-9724
(2012)
The Word Length Effect in Immediate Serial Recall: An Investigation of Two Short-Term Memory Models.
Honours thesis,
University of Southern Queensland.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate whether short-term memory (STM) loss occurs at input and storage as suggested by the Working Memory Model (WMM), or at output as suggested by the Embedded Process Model (EPM). Correct recall was measured on an immediate serial recall task, with 5-item lists. Word length at input and output was manipulated using commonly accepted abbreviations of long words, such that the original word was the long form and the abbreviation was the short form. The 20 participants consisted of 13 university students and 7 community members aged from 18 to 62 years of age (M = 40.2, SD = 13.4) with 13 females and 7 males. A 2 x 2 (word length at input [short, long] x word length at output [short, long]) repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a statistically significant main effect of word length at input, F(1, 199) = 22.09, p < .001, partial ƞ2 = .10, with short words at input providing greater recall. There was also a significant main effect of word length at output, F(1,199) = 31.93, p < .001, partial ƞ2 = .14, with short words at output providing greater recall. There was a significant interaction effect between word length at input and word length at output on correct recall, F(1,199) = 40.62, p < .001, partial ƞ2 = .17, indicating that recall is affected by word length at both input and output. Further study is required to determine if the WMM and the EPM adequately explain the processes occurring in STM, or if there are aspects of the current study design that confounded the results.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Liam Hendry |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Aug 2025 01:07 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Aug 2025 01:07 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Working Memory Model, Embedded Processes Model, short-term memory, immediate serial recall, word length effect |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52145 |
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