In two studies we presented pictures of unfamiliar faces one at a time, then presented the complete set at test and asked for serial reconstruction of the order of presentation. Serial position functions were similar to those found with verbal materials, with considerable primacy and one item recency, position errors that were mainly to the adjacent serial position, a visual similarity effect, and effects of articulatory suppression that did not interact with the serial position effect or with the similarity effect. Serial position effects were found when faces had been seen for as little as 300 ms and after a 6-s retention interval filled with articulatory suppression. Serial position effects found with unfamiliar faces are not based on verbal encoding strategies, and important elements of serial memory may be general across modalities.
Hay co-designed the study, supervised the data collection, was involved with the data analysis and interpretation, and collaborated in the writing. This is one of the publications arising from the ESRC grant held with Smyth and Hitch. RAE_import_type : Journal article RAE_uoa_type : Psychology
