Iconicity refers to a resemblance between word form and meaning. Previous work has shown that iconic words are learned earlier and processed faster. Here, we examined whether iconic words are recognized better on a recognition memory task. We also manipulated the level at which items were encoded--with a focus on either their meaning or their…

Iconicity, or the resemblance between form and meaning, is often ascribed to a special status and contrasted with default assumptions of arbitrariness in spoken language. But does iconicity in spoken language have a special status when it comes to learnability? A simple way to gauge learnability is to see how well something is retrieved from…

Following a review of contemporary models of word-level processing for reading and their limitations, we propose a new hypothetical model of Chinese character reading, namely, the graded lexical space mapping model that characterizes how sublexical radicals and lexical information are involved in Chinese character reading development. The…

This report, presented at the symposium "Deaf Readers: Clues to the Role of Sound in Reading," addresses the nature of phonological recoding--use of the inner voice in silent reading--for deaf readers. Studies are reported on the forms in which deaf readers recode the printed text. Findings noted include that deaf readers--specifically, second…

The authors argue that nonword repetition priming in lexical decision is the net result of 2 opposing processes. First, repeating nonwords in the lexical decision task results in the storage of a memory trace containing the interpretation that the letter string is a nonword; retrieval of this trace leads to an increase in performance for repeated…

Two experiments are reported to investigate the theory that since auditory sensory memory is used to store memory information, concurrent auditory stimulation should destroy memory information and thus reduce recall performance. (Author/RM)

Our research reflects the current trend to relate individual differences in second language learning to underlying cognitive processes e.g., Robinson, 2002. We believe that such investigations, apart from being of practical importance, can also shed light on the cognitive mechanisms underlying the language learning process. Here we focus on the…

Contrasts the hypothesis that phonological memory, but not phonological sensitivity, accounts for significant variation in young children's receptive vocabulary. Presents the view that both phonological memory and sensitivity are manifestations of a latent phonological processing ability. Suggests that with age and performance IQ effects…

The purpose of this article is to examine the capacity limitations of the active memory system as seen in the nature of the forgetting mechanisms. (Author/NCR)

In six experiments subjects saw and pronounced, either aloud or silently, seven-item lists made from vocabularies of phonologically identical items. These materials were used to test the predictions of a precategorical and a postcategorical hypotheses for the modality effect in immediate memory. (Author/SW)

Examined age- and schooling-related influences on memory and phonological segmentation skills of 19 children who missed and made the school-entry cutoff date in a given year. Tested recall ability, short term memory strategies, and phonological awareness. Found that growth of memory skills and strategies, particularly short term, is primarily a…

Three experiments use a tachistoscopic word recognition task to investigate how skilled readers covert visual input into a speech-related or phonological code during reading. (Author/NCR)