Immediate Recall of Sentences Plus Digits: a New Approach

Subjects were asked to recall sentences followed by random strings of digits. Presentation was auditory, recall was spoken and the format followed the Wechsler digit retention sub-test. Consideration of the number of digits correctly recalled following correct recall of the sentence indicated that (a) simple active affirmative declarative sentences reduced the average digits recalled by 2, (b) passivization did not significantly increase this reduction while (c) adding clauses did. Consideration of the serial position of digit recall errors indicated that the sentences and digits were disjoint in memory. Analysis of errors in sentence recall suggested that detransforming occurs in immediate recall tasks and that reversibility was a factor in correct recall.