Serial report and item recognition of novel visual patterns

Previous studies of memory for novel visual patterns have reported how item recognition varies across serial positions, but have neglected serial order memory. In Expts 1 and 2 participants reported the order in which short series of novel patterns had been presented. The results showed markedly bowed serial position curves similar to those reported for sequences of verbal items or spatial locations. Concurrent articulation reduced performance in the serial report task relative to the memory task alone (Expt 2) or concurrent tapping (Expt 3) suggesting that a verbal component was involved. When two-alternative forced choice tests were used to test memory for the configuration of each pattern in the series, no primacy or recency was found (Expt 4). In Expt 5 the presentation of a series of five items was followed at random by either a serial report or the two-choice item recognition task. The serial position curves for the two tasks remained different, suggesting that encoding strategies were not responsible. The results show that bowed serial position curves are found when judgments of serial order are required, even when phonological coding is discouraged, whereas memory for item descriptions is independent of serial position. The implications for current conceptualizations of short-term memory are discussed.