Working Memory for Sign Language
A Window Into the Architecture of the Working Memory System
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15017993 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Wilson (0000-0003-1250-484X, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, corresponding author), Karen Emmorey (0000-0002-5647-0066, Salk Institute for Biological Studies) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 121-130 |
| Publication date | 1997-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1081-4159 • E-ISSN: 1465-7325 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oxfordjournals.deafed.a014318 |
| PMID | 15579841 |
| OpenAlex | W2163373718 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 10 |
Traditionally, working memory has been divided into two major domains: verbal and visuo-spatial. The verbal domain of working memory can be characterized either by its relationship to language or by its grounding in auditory processing. Because of this ambiguity, languages that are not auditory and vocal (i.e., signed languages) pose a challenge to this conception of working memory. We describe several experiments with deaf users of American Sign Language (ASL) that explore the extent to which the architecture of working memory is determined by the constraints of auditory and visual processing and the extent to which it is determined by the characteristics of language. Various working memory effects were investigated: phonological similarity, word length, and articulatory suppression. The pattern of evidence strongly supports the existence of a sign-based 'rehearsal loop' mechanism parallel to the speech-based rehearsal loop. However, we also discuss evidence pointing to differences between the speech loop and the sign loop from forward and backward digit span tasks with deaf and hearing subjects. Despite their similarities based on linguistic properties, the speech loop and the sign loop appear to diverge due to the differing processing demands of audition and vision. Overall, the results suggest that the architecture of working memory is shaped both by the properties of language structure and by the constraints imposed by sensorimotor modality
Baddeley's model of working memory · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Linguistics · Memory span · Short-term memory · Sign (mathematics · Sign language · Working memory · Computer Science · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Psychology · Tactile and Sensory Interactions
How Do Children Who Can't Hear Learn to Read an Alphabetic Script? A Review of the Literature on Reading and Deafness
Differences in Arithmetic Subtraction of Nonsymbolic Numerosities by Deaf and Hearing Adults
The role of iconicity and simultaneity for efficient communication
A theory-driven model of handshape similarity
Memory in deaf signers and embodied cognition of sign languages
Split movement of wh-elements in Japanese Sign Language
Visual Sequence Repetition Learning is Not Impaired in Signing DHH Children
Contribution of Implicit Sequence Learning to Spoken Language Processing
Perceiving imitatible stimuli
Phonological Representation of the Sign
American Sign Language
Word length and the structure of short-term memory
On the nature of phonological structure in sign language
Modality of Language Shapes Working Memory
The Recall of Digits by Normal, Deaf and Autistic Children
Information, Acoustic Confusion and Memory Span
Think and Believe
The Signs of Language
Sign Language Structure
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,35 |
| Citation span | 2000 - 2021 (22) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |