title: Gummed-up memory: chewing gum impairs short-term recall.
abstract: Several studies have suggested that short-term memory is generally improved by chewing gum. However, we report the first studies to show that chewing gum impairs short-term memory for both item order and item identity. Experiment 1 showed that chewing gum reduces serial recall of letter lists. Experiment 2 indicated that chewing does not simply disrupt vocal-articulatory planning required for order retention: Chewing equally impairs a matched task that required retention of list item identity. Experiment 3 demonstrated that manual tapping produces a similar pattern of impairment to that of chewing gum. These results clearly qualify the assertion that chewing gum improves short-term memory. They also pose a problem for short-term memory theories asserting that forgetting is based on domain-specific interference given that chewing does not interfere with verbal memory any more than tapping. It is suggested that tapping and chewing reduce the general capacity to process sequences.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. michail.d.kozlov@gmail.com
authors.forename: Michail D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Kozlov
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Dylan M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002638:Chewing Gum / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002638:Chewing Gum