Presentation modality, rehearsal-prevention conditions, and auditory confusions in tests of short-term memory.

Ss were presented four-letter sequences either auditorily or visually and asked for ordered recall after 0, 2.1, 4.2, 8.4, or 12.6 sec of digit categorization. Three different rehearsal-prevention conditions were required during presentation of the memory set: categorizing, suppressing (saying "dah"), or pronouncing each letter. Recall was worst after categorizing, best after pronouncing. Auditory presentation led to better recall after no delay but more rapid forgetting than visual presentation, regardless of the rehearsal-prevention condition. These results, and analyses of auditory confusions, are inconsistent with a view of memory which asserts that sensory information is encoded auditorily regardless of presentation modality or vocalization behavior during presentation.