THE ROLE OF LONG-TERM-MEMORY MECHANISMS IN MEMORY SPAN

We present an experiment relating memory span for words and non-words of differing spoken lengths to speech rate. Linear functions related m emory span to speech rate for both words and non-words. Recall of non- words, however, is substantially worse than for words and this differe nce is not attributable to differences in speech rate. Familiarizing s ubjects with the pronunciations of the non-words increased memory span for them and these improvements in recall were also, at least partial ly, independent of changes in speech rate. The results are interpreted as evidence for a separable influence of long-term memory on immediat e memory span performance.