In two experiments participants retained a single color or a set of four spatial locations in memory. During a 5 s retention interval participants viewed either flickering dynamic visual noise or a static matrix pattern. In Experiment 1 memory was assessed using a recognition procedure, in which participants indicated if a particular test stimulus matched the memorized stimulus or not. In Experiment 2 participants attempted to either reproduce the locations or they picked the color from a whole range of possibilities. Both experiments revealed effects of dynamic visual noise (DVN) on memory for colors but not for locations. The implications of the results for theories of working memory and the methodological prospects for DVN as an experimental tool are discussed.

When participants are presented with a short list of unrelated words and they are instructed that they may recall in any order, they nevertheless show a very strong tendency to recall in forward serial order. Thus, if asked to recall in any order: "hat, mouse, tea, stairs", participants often respond "hat, mouse, tea, stairs" even though there was no forward order requirement of the task. In four experiments, we examined whether this tendency is language-specific, reflecting mechanisms involved with speech perception, speech production, and / or verbal short-term memory.Specifically, we examined whether we would observe similar findings when participants were asked to recall, in any order, lists of between 1 and 15 non-verbal stimuli, such as visuo-spatial locations (Experiment 1, Experiment 3, Experiment 4), or touched facial locations (Experiment 2).Contrary to a language-specific explanation, we found corresponding tendencies (albeit somewhat reduced) in the immediate free recall of these non-verbal stimuli. We conclude that the tendency to initiate recall of a short sequence of items with the first item is a general property of memory, which may be augmented by verbal coding. wordsKeywords: free recall; visuo-spatial memory; tactile memory; verbal short-term memory; serial order 3 Recently, Ward, Tan, and Grenfell-Essam (2010) reported the first systematic investigation into an experimental finding that was first reported by Corballis (1967) and then again by Neath and Crowder (1996). When participants are asked to recall a short list of words in any order, such as:"hat, mouse, tea, stairs", they often respond in forward serial order (that is, they recall "hat, mouse, tea, stairs"), even though there was no forward order requirement of the task. Ward et al. argued that this finding was important for two reasons. First, the finding encouraged greater theoretical integration between the otherwise divergent immediate free recall (IFR) and immediate serial recall (ISR) literatures. Second, the finding is potentially difficult to explain by many theories of IFR that emphasize the importance of explaining recency effects (that is, the high accessibility of items presented toward the end of a list). Third, the finding adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests that forward-ordered recall may be a defining principle of episodic memory (e.g., Hurlstone, Baddeley, & Hitch, 2014).One specific aim of the current work is to address the question of whether this forwardordered tendency observed in the IFR of verbal stimuli reflects the operation of language-specific mechanisms (such as a speech input/output buffer or a verbal short-term memory system) or whether the tendency is a more general property of memory that can also be observed across different (non-verbal) materials. A second more general aim of the current work is to examine the functional similarities and differences between IFR of stimuli from verbal and non-verbal domains.In the introduction that follows, we outline more fully the phenomenon ...

In 2 experiments, the authors explored age of acquisition (AoA) and word frequency (WF) effects in picture naming using the psychological refractory period paradigm. In Experiment 1, participants named a picture and then, a short time later, categorized 1 of 3 possible auditory tones as high, medium, or low. Both AoA (Experiment 1A) and WF (Experiment 1B) effects propagated onto tone discrimination reaction times (RTs), with the effects of AoA being stronger. In Experiment 2, the to-be-named picture followed the auditory tone by a varying interval. As the interval decreased, picture naming RTs increased. The relationship between the interval and AoA (Experiment 2A) was reliably underadditive; AoA effects were eliminated at the shortest interval. In contrast, WF (Experiment 2B) was additive with the effects of the interval. These results demonstrate an empirical dissociation between AoA and WF effects. AoA affects processing stages that precede those that are sensitive to WF. The implications for theories of picture naming are discussed.

In two experiments participants named pictures superimposed with unrelated words. The age of acquisition (AoA) of the picture names was manipulated. Additionally, the word frequency (WF, Experiment 1) or AoA (Experiment 2) of the interfering distractor words was manipulated. Early-acquired pictures were named faster than their late-acquired counterparts. Both WF and AoA modulated the degree of interference from the irrelevant word; low-frequency and late-acquired words produced most interference. In neither case did the WF or AoA of the distractor word interact with the AoA of the picture. The results show that in the context of word processing both WF and AoA have similar effects.

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