Testing theories of working memory: On the relevance of semantic distractor features in the irrelevant speech effect on serial recall

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jan Philipp Röer
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2015 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 277682250

Working memory models make contrasting assumptions on which distractor features should be harmful to the pursuit of current behavioral goals. The planned research project seeks to investigate the role that semantic distractor features play in the disruption of serial recall by task-irrelevant background sound. The proposed experiments are based on a pilot study with promising results, in which two categories of distractor sentences were compared: sentences with semantically matching last words and sentences with semantically mismatching last words. Opposing predictions can be derived from working memory models as to the amount of disruption these sentences should produce. According to models that assume that the irrelevant sound effect is caused by automatic interference, the disruptive potential of a distractor sequence is only determined by its acoustic and not its semantic features. According to models that allow for auditory distractors to capture attention, words that violate a previously built-up semantic expectation should produce a particularly large irrelevant sound effect. In line with this assumption, sentences with semantically mismatching last words caused greater disruption of serial recall than sentences with semantically matching last words. This is a novel and interesting finding that extends previously known semantic effects. However, before definite conclusions can be drawn, a systematic investigation seems necessary on how semantic distractor features affect the disruption of serial recall by auditory distractors. This research project proposes such an investigation. Ten experiments are designed to examine the conditions, under which semantic distractor features are harmful to working memory performance, the locus of this effect, and the processes involved. Important insights are expected as to the empirical assessment of the adequacy of current working memory models.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants