Prevalence of Two-Syllable Digits Affecting Forward Digit Span Test Score: A Potential Reliability Factor in Digit Span Tests and New Light to the Word Length Effect
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Permanent lenke
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2426834Utgivelsesdato
2016Metadata
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Originalversjon
10.1177/2158244016681825Sammendrag
The word length effect shows a connection between word length and working memory performance. Although the
relationship between digit verbal length and digit span has been investigated between languages, it has not been investigated
within a language. It was hypothesized that this effect can be shown as a connection between the prevalence of digits with
two syllables and digit span score. The study examined the effect of amount of syllables on Norwegian digit span test scores
by altering the prevalence of two-syllable digits using three conditions in a repeated measures design (N = 54). Results
suggest that an elimination of two-syllable digits in a digit span test significantly reduced forward span test score (Cohen’s d
= 0.36), but had no effect on backward span scores. These results suggest that a balanced distribution of two-syllable digits
in a forward digit span tests should theoretically increase the test’s comparability and reduce language-related biases thus
increasing the test’s parallel-form reliability. A peak-span model is proposed to integrate the findings into previous research
on the word length effect.