Reversing the phonological similarity effect

The phonological similarity effect-poor retention of order for Lists of sim ilar-sounding items-is a benchmark finding in the short-term memory literat ure. In our first two experiments, we show that the effect actually reverse s following relatively brief periods of distraction, yielding better order retention for similar than for dissimilar lists, provided that different it ems are used on every trial. In Experiment 3, the same items were used on e very trial and similar lists produced poorer performance across all three r etention intervals. The results are interpreted from a general discriminati on framework: Items are viewed as occupying positions in a multidimensional space defined by List and within-list dimensions.