Citation

Parmentier FB, Beaman CP. Can. J. Exp. Psychol. 2014; 69(1): 28-38.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Canadian Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/cep0000036

PMID

25485459

Abstract

Across 5 experiments, the temporal regularity and content of an irrelevant speech stream were varied and their effects on a serial recall task examined. Variations of the content, but not the rhythm, of the irrelevant speech stimuli reliably disrupted serial recall performance in all experiments. Bayesian analyses supported the null hypothesis over the hypothesis that irregular rhythms would disrupt memory to a greater extent than regular rhythms. Pooling the data in a combined analysis revealed that regular presentation of the irrelevant speech was significantly more disruptive to serial recall than irregular presentation. These results are consistent with the idea that auditory distraction is sensitive to both intraitem and interitem relations and challenge an orienting-based account of auditory distraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Language: en