title: Similar digit-based working memory in deaf signers and hearing non-signers despite digit span differences.
abstract: Similar working memory (WM) for lexical items has been demonstrated for signers and non-signers while short-term memory (STM) is regularly poorer in deaf than hearing individuals. In the present study, we investigated digit-based WM and STM in Swedish and British deaf signers and hearing non-signers. To maintain good experimental control we used printed stimuli throughout and held response mode constant across groups. We showed that deaf signers have similar digit-based WM performance, despite shorter digit spans, compared to well-matched hearing non-signers. We found no difference between signers and non-signers on STM span for letters chosen to minimize phonological similarity or in the effects of recall direction. This set of findings indicates that similar WM for signers and non-signers can be generalized from lexical items to digits and suggests that poorer STM in deaf signers compared to hearing non-signers may be due to differences in phonological similarity across the language modalities of sign and speech.
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping Universtiy Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Josefine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Andin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Crete Rethymnon, Greece.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Orfanidou
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping Universtiy Linköping, Sweden ; Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre, Department of Cognitive Perceptual and Brain Sciences, University College London London, UK.
authors.forename: Velia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cardin
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping Universtiy Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holmer
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Cheryl M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Capek
authors.affiliation: Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre, Department of Cognitive Perceptual and Brain Sciences, University College London London, UK.
authors.forename: Bencie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Woll
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping Universtiy Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jerker
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rönnberg
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping Universtiy Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rudner
keywords: cross-culture; deaf signers; phonological similarity; short-term memory; working memory