The Word Length Effect in Working Memory
工作记忆中的词长效应

The word length effect in working memory is the finding that short items are remembered better than long items on immediate serial recall tests. Above all, the article reviewed the experimental researches on word length effect and explained the corresponding theories including the classic phonological loop hypothesis, the feature model, integration theory, item-order trade off perspective and SIMPLE model proposed in recent years. Then it introduced the advance in the applications of neuroimaging technology on the effect, such as ERP, fMRI and PET, which provided the further evidences. Moreover, the disputes were discussed. At last it commented briefly the theories and predicted the research trend in the future.