Immediate serial recall of words and nonwords: Tests of the retrieval-based hypothesis

In two experiments, the immediate serial recall of lists of words or nonwor ds was investigated under quiet and articulatory suppression conditions. Th e results showed better item recall for words but better order recall for n onwords, as measured with proportion of order errors per item recalled. Art iculatory suppression hindered the recall of item information for both type s of lists and of order information for words. These results are interprete d in light of a retrieval account in which degraded phonological traces mus t undergo a reconstruction process calling on long-term knowledge of the to -be-remembered items. The minimal long-term representations for nonwords ar e thought to be responsible for their lower item recall and their better or der recall. Under suppression, phonological representations are thought to be minimal, producing trace interpretation problems responsible for the gre ater number of item and order errors, relative to quiet conditions. The ver y low performance for nonwords under suppression is attributed to the combi nation of degraded phonological information and minimal long-term knowledge .