i
s
DIFFERENCES IN
VISUAL
AND AUDITORY
SHORT-TERM MEMORY
ELIZABETH HILTON
Communicated by: Dr.
R.
Gottwald
Department
of
Psychology
ABSTRACT
Short-term memory has always been thought
of
as an auditory process. However, short-term memory is
considered a visual process
as
well. The purpose
of
this research was to discern whether auditory or visual
short-term memory is held for a longer and more accurate duration. An analysis
of
variance indicated the
visual presentation was recalled more accurately than the auditory presentation
[(.E(
1,3
7)=69
.07,p<O.O1)
].
The
results also showed short words were recalled more accurately than the long words [
(.E(l
,3
7)=22.02,p<O .01)].
The auditory condition seemed to be more mentally fatiguing for the participants as indicated by the amount
of
mistakes made in retention and the retrieval
of
the words.
Several studies have been done on the differences between
visual and auditory short-term memory. Short-term memory
has usually been thought
of
to be primarily an auditory
process. Current evidence has shown that short-term memory
has
the tendency to be a visual procedure as well. In recent
years there have been dissimilarities involving the amount
of
recall ability that visual and auditory short-term memory
demonstrates.
Short-term memory
is
thought
of
to be the place new
information
is
placed for later retrieval. Short-term memory
is
split into two different types
of
categories. New
information can be taken into short-term memory either
through a visual or auditory receptor (Ashcraft 112). The
information
is
then placed into short-term memory to be
retrieved, transferred into long-term memory or just simply
forgotten.
If
the stimulus is placed into long-term memory,
which can activate some other information in short-term
memory, the item in long-term memory could be transferred
back
to
short-term memory (Atkinson 112). This model is
called the information flow, which was designed by Atkinson
(112). This model works by collecting information through
visual or auditory receptors and then placing it into the
temporary working memory or short-term memory. While the
information
is
in
the temporary working memory, the process
ofrehearsal, coding, and retrieval
is
executed to allow for the
correct response to occur. This is what has been referred to as
the
control process
of
short-term memory (Atkinson 112).
Short-term memory is an example
of
how the brain processes
information differently when it
is
either received through
visual stimuli or through auditory stimuli, which are both
sensory processes. The auditory recoding
is
very different
from visual recoding (Crowder 71). For example, the visual
stimuli were seen and heard through rehearsal maintenance in
the brain. However, the auditory stimuli were only heard,
making that a more difficult process to perform. The brain
is
required to create images presented through a perceptual
receptor, which
is
an image the brain creates through its
sensory processes instead
of
seeing and then creating pictures
in whatever form the stimuli were presented (Crowder 71).
The development
of
items in short-term memory contains
more than just the arrangement and retention
of
sensory and
perceptual stimuli. The brain functions cognitively to create
what some psychologists have called making a 'mental
image.' This is the ability to illustrate the retention
of
detailed
visual information, even
if
the information
is
a list
of
words.
The brain will create a picture to represent each word. A
'mental image' is a sensory episode that is produced by
'mental pictures' the brain already has stored to establish some
type
of
recall. When the brain is processing a visual image,
the cognitive functioning requires the discovery
of
a 'mental
image,' but when the cognitive functioning is the process
of
an auditory stimuli, the brain needs to hear the word and then
create a 'mental image' in order for a correct recall to take
place. A possible problem could be the subject's perception,
interpretation, or input problems like distractions from the
--
-
-----
-
-=--===--==---
48
environment where the processing
is
taking place (Gregg 43-
52).
A study was done
to
see
if
there are variations among visual
and auditory short-term memory in the accuracy
of
correct
recall. The duration capacity for a subject to hold either visual
or auditory information was also observed. It
is
hypothesized
that visual short-term memory will have a longer and more
accurate duration than auditory short-term memory.
METHOD
Participants
Thirty-eight
Pl03
male and female traditional psychology
students (ages ranging between 18-22 years) at Indiana
University South Bend volunteered to participate in this
experiment for enrichment points. The volunteers were
treated in accordance with the "Ethical Principals
of
Psychologists and Code
of
Conduct" (American Psychological
Association 1992).
Materials
Four lists
of
words were used for each condition for a total
of
8 lists. The lists were comprised
of
words from a collection
of
nouns that reported imagery content. I picked words that had
on average a 6.00 to a 7 .99 imagery-content from an appendix
that illustrated 925 nouns with various imagery-contents. The
eight lists varied in syllables and lengths. Each list contained
10
words. There were 40 words used for the visual section
and 40 words used in the auditory section. The lists were
comprised
of
10
short I-syllable words,
10
short 2-syllable
E. Hilton
words,
10
long 2-syllable words and
10
long 3-syllable words.
A stopwatch was used to ensure proper exposure to each
word.
Procedure
A between subjects experiment was conducted, which consists
of
two groups that were compared. The experiment consisted
of
two conditions: visual and auditory words with varying
lengths and syllables. The lists were placed in a randomly
selected order. The first nineteen participants, the control
group, received the visual, then auditory lists. The second
nineteen participants received the same lists, but the lists
of
words were in the direct opposite order. The words were
given in accordance to the condition. The participants were
shown a word for three seconds, then shown the next word.
After each list was shown, the subjects were asked to recall the
words they remembered. The same procedure was used for
the auditory condition; the auditory condition consisted
of
reading words from a list to the participants instead
of
the
words being shown. After the experimenter read each
of
the
auditory lists, the subjects were asked to recall what they
remembered. The participants had 3 seconds
in which to
process each word. The participants were asked
to
either look
or listen to each word.
RESULTS
Table 1 shows the mean scores between groups. Table 2
shows a main effect between the visual or auditory
presentation and the length
of
the word. The percent
of
mean scores between groups
is
presented in Figure
1.
The
percent ofrecall responses
is
present in Figure
2.
Table 1: Mean Scores Between Groups
Visual·
Auditory,
Mean:
Short
1
Syllable
0.85
0.74
0.80
Short
2
Syllables
0.84
0.72
0.78
_
LC?n9,2_
Syll8-blet)
__
0.79
0.63
0.71
L~_~_Syllables
0.78
0.67
·
o.i3
Table
2:
Main Effect Between the Visual and Auditory Length
of
Words
Visual
~u~it~ry
1
_
Mean,
Short Words
84%
73%
' -
79%
LonQ_l/tJo~~
_
-L~P.!~~-~-
78%
i~-~~~-
65% ' 69%
72%
Mean
0.82
0.69
s
i
"
"
y
11
d
1f
e
·e
i.
te
)f
)f
ie
I
ie
~y
I
to
lk
I
2
Differences in Visual and Auditory Short-Term Memory
Percent
of
mean scores
1~
~
....
,_.
______
--·-~·-'
90'4
85"-
8411.
I
-
-
80%
101I.
I-
!
~1
- - - -
I~
i 40%
l
301'.
20'4
10%
0%
Short
1
SyletJle4
Short2~
Long
2
SyletJle4
l.ong3S~
Lenglh
ot
Worft
Figure I: For each condition (Visual and Auditory), the percent
of
mean scores
of
correct responses from
participants for the length
of
words is presented.
iry I Percent
of
comtct
ntc:all
words
of
100%
be
:i
L •
~
J
60'1.
!-1
- - lr;J
l 40%
30'4
20%
100..
0%
Short Wll'da
long
'o"Ods
Lenglh
OllWOrds
CCM1lbined
Figure
2:
For each condition (Visual and Auditory), the percent
of
the correct recall
of
words from
participants for short words and
long words is presented.
49
50
I used a two factor repeated measures
ANOVA
for the
analysis
of
variance. The inferential statistics showed a
modality effect
of
the visual presentation was recalled more
accurately than the auditory presentation, .E(l,37)=69.07,
12.<0.0l.
The short one and two syllable words were recalled
more accurately than the long two and three syllable words,
.E(l,37)=22.02,
12.<0.0l.
There was no interaction found
between the visual and auditory conditions or the length
of
words. This shows that the length
of
word does have a main
effect. The three syllable words were harder to remember
than the shorter one and two syllable words. A serial-position
effect was found in all
of
the eight lists that were presented.
DISCUSSION
The results
of
the data analysis reject the null hypothesis that
there is no difference between visual and auditory short-term
memory. As hypothesized, visual short-term memory will
have a longer and more accurate duration than auditory short-
term memory, because the item being presented is cognitively
processed
by
two different brain functions within short-term
memory. The item that is processed visually is digested
by
a
visual receptor within the brain. When an item is presented
through auditory receptors, the cognitive process is only
thought
of
as being a form
of
repletion.
The length
of
word variable was statistically significant. The
length
of
the words was instrumental in recall. This shows
that the shorter words were held for a longer and more
accurate capacity. Some interference was observed in the
auditory word condition but not enough to cause significant
results. This could have been caused
by
the amount
of
words
the subjects were required to process. The brain will fatigue
after an extended period
of
activity, which could be the cause
of
the interference that took place.
No
difference was found in the order
of
presentation. I
expected to find a difference in the order. I changed the order
of
conditions for that reason. Since no difference was found,
the accuracy ofrecall and duration is not affected
by
the order
of
visual or auditory word arrangements.
There is a variation among the visual and auditory words.
Since the words have a main effect, it appears to be easier for
this group
of
subjects to recall the visual words with more
accuracy. The same can be said about the length
of
words.
It
appears to be easier for this group
of
subjects to recall the
shorter words with greater precision. There could be another
reason why this group
of
subjects was more precise in the
visual condition than the auditory condition. This group
of38
could have a tendency to be visual learners.
If
this study was
repeated with auditory learners, I think the auditory condition
E. Hilton
would
have
a higher percentage
of
correct answers in the
auditory condition.
A serial-position effect was observed in all eight lists (a serial-
position is when a subject will remember and retain the first
and last couple
of
words with more accuracy than the words
presented in the middle). The first 2
or
3 words and the last 2
or
3 words were retained longer and more accurately. Thus,
a person has a tendency to remember the first and last few
items being presented because the brain will start to rehearse
the information that was presented first and last, and have an
inclination
to
forget the middle items. There was also less
interference detected with those first and last couple
of
words.
There was a slight trend between the visual and auditory
condition with the length. That interaction was not significant.
Several implications have been discovered
by
this experiment.
Short-term
memory
has
been
thought to be an auditory
process. After doing this study, it seems as though short-term
memory
can
be thought
of
as a visual process as well. This
becomes apparent because the visual condition recalled more
words correctly.
In
fact, the visual condition did relatively
better than the auditory condition. This could
be
due to the
fact that these subjects were better at visual learning for the
most
part. For example, when subjects are given a series
of
pictures
or
lists
of
words, the brain begins to process that
information
by
two different cognitive operations. After the
operations are finished, the item(s) are placed into short-term
memory. This allows the brain the ability to have two
different forms, either through a mental image
or
repletion,
from which to gather for recall. On the other hand, the group
of
38 subjects could have
been
visual learners instead
of
auditory learners. Another implication that should be studied
is why learning and short-term memory has previously been
thought
of
as an auditory process.
In
future research, the
experimenter should focus
on
why visual short-term memory
learning seems to be more accurate than auditory short-term
memory.
REFERENCES
Arkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin,
R.
M. (1971). "The control
of
short-term memory." Scientific American, 222, 82-90.
Ashcraft,
M.A.
(1998). Fundamentals
of
Cognition (Pricilla
Greehon).
New
York: Addison-Wesley Educational
Publishers Inc.
Crowder,
R.
G. (1976). Principals
of
Learning and
Memory. Hillsdale,
New
Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, Publishers.
Gregg, V. H. (1986).
Introduction to Human Memory.
London: Routledge & Henley.
ELIZABETH HILTON graduated in May 2001 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy. This research paper
was written for the Psychology Senior Lab.
