Categorical Encoding in Short-Term Memory by Deaf and Hearing Children

Abstract

Thirty-seven deaf and 38 hearing children, ages eight to 12, were tested in a short-term memory task. Special interest focused on the build-up and release of proactive interference (PI). Both groups showed PI when the items were drawn from the same conceptual class of animals. In addition, experimental groups of deaf and hearing subjects showed a release from PI when shifted to a set of items drawn from a different category on the last trial. It was concluded that deaf children encode categorically in short-term memory (suggesting a normally functioning ability to think abstractly and to process information without acoustic mediators).