What is articulatory suppression and how does it affect verbal short-term memory?

• A. Repeating an irrelevant syllable occupies the articulatory loop, reducing subvocal rehearsal and lowering verbal memory performance.
• B. Repeating an irrelevant syllable enhances memory for numbers.
• C. It disrupts the visual sketchpad but not verbal memory.
• D. It has no effect on memory.

Answer: (A)

Articulatory suppression happens when you must continuously repeat a meaningless syllable, tying up the articulatory loop that normally refreshes verbal items in memory. In the phonological loop, verbal short-term memory relies on a phonological store that is kept active by subvocal rehearsal; when that rehearsal is blocked, the items fade from memory and recall drops. This effect is specific to verbal memory and does not primarily disrupt nonverbal stores like the visuospatial sketchpad. So, repeating an irrelevant syllable reduces subvocal rehearsal and lowers verbal memory performance.