The phonological loop unmasked? A comment on the evidence for a “perceptual-gestural” alternative

Abstract

Jones et al. (Jones, Hughes, & Macken, 2006; Jones, Macken, & Nicholls, 2004) identify the interaction between phonological similarity, articulatory suppression, and stimulus presentation mode in verbal short-term memory as potentially providing important support for the phonological loop hypothesis. They find such an interaction but attribute it to “perceptual organization masquerading as phonological storage”. We present data using shorter letter sequences and find clear evidence of the interaction predicted by the phonological loop hypothesis, which, unlike the evidence of Jones et al., is not limited to recency, and which provides continued support for the phonological loop hypothesis.

Thanks to Alicia January, Betsy Lehman, and Kristi Monday for their assistance with data collection and coding and to Dennis Norris and an anonymous referee for comments on an earlier draft. We are grateful for financial support from Medical Research Council Grant 001M8025701 to Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch.