Speech errors and the phonological similarity effect in short-term memory: evidence suggesting a common locus

In three experiments, we tested the hypothesis that those errors in immediate serial recall (ISR) that are attributable to phonological confusability share a locus with segmental errors in normal speech production. In the first two experiments, speech errors were elicited in the repeated paced reading of six-letter lists. The errors mirrored the phonological confusions seen in ISR. In a third experiment, participants performed ISR for four-word lists. Some of the lists were designed to encourage the exchange of onset consonants between adjacent words. ISR was shown to be sensitive to this manipulation, further supporting the common-locus hypothesis. The results are discussed in the context of theories of serial recall and of speech production, and are further related to neuropsychological data.