Are Lexical Factors Immune to Response Modality in Backward Recall? The Effects of Imageability and Word Frequency

In immediate serial recall, it is well established that performance is influenced by lexical factors such as imageability and word frequency. However, when participants are asked to recall the to-be-remembered items in their reverse order, known as backward recall, lexical factors produced contradictory findings. In 4 experiments, we tested the role of response modality in modulating the effects of imageability and word frequency in backward …