[Short-term memory performance of German and Chinese probands with verbal and figural items: on the function of the phonological loop and visual-spatial sketchpad].
In a computer-controlled experiment using n = 48 German and n = 48 Chinese subjects we established the memory span for simple geometrical figures and their names in the subjects' respective native language. Half of the subjects replied verbally, the other half nonverbally via a touch screen. In addition, verbal reproduction times were measured. Significant differences in memory span between the two language groups were found only under nonverbal report conditions: here, the Chinese subjects achieved better results than their German contemporaries. There were no differences in oral reproduction times between the two groups. The results are discussed within the framework of Baddeley's working memory model.
Lass
U
U
Georg-Elias-Müller-Institut für Psychologie, Universität Göttingen.
Lüer
G
G
Becker
D
D
Fang
Y
Y
Chen
G
G
Wang
Z
Z
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010700:Phonetics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D014706:Verbal Learning