Effects of orthographic and phonological word length on memory for lists shown at RSVP and STM rates

This article reports 3 experiments in which effects of orthographic and phonological word length on memory were examined for short lists shown at rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) and short-term memory (STM) rates. Only visual-orthographic length reduced RSVP serial recall, whereas both orthographic and phonological length lowered recall for STM lists in Experiment 1. Word-length effects may arise from output processes or from the temporal duration of output in recall. In 2 further experiments, output demands were reduced through the use of a recognition test. Recognition accuracy was impaired only by orthographic length for RSVP lists and by phonological length for STM lists in both experiments. The results demonstrate 2 item length effects not simply attributable to increased output time in recall, and implications for theories of STM are considered.