Vocal Mediating Responses in Short-Term Memory of Severely and Profoundly Deaf Children

Abstract

The research investigated the effects of vocal mediating responses on short-term memory, with young severely (N = 15) and profoundly deaf children (N = 15). The purpose was to determine to what extent vocal responses are dependent upon auditory stimulation on recall, on three different tasks. The findings suggested that whether vocal responses were effective mediators for the deaf depended not only upon the meaningfulness of stimulus material but also the amount of attention directed to the verbal act. Where considerable effort had to be extended to the expressive functions, it seemed to be at the expense of effective sensory input; vocal responses by the severely deaf appeared to be more interfering than facilitating on visual-memory tasks.