In a study, researchers asked participants to remember a list of 7 digits while simultaneously performing a visuospatial task such as tracking a moving dot. A second group performed a verbal suppression task (repeating "the the the") instead. The visuospatial group recalled most digits accurately, but the verbal-suppression group's digit recall dropped sharply, suggesting different subsystems were taxed.
Verbal suppression interferes with digit recall primarily because both tasks compete for
- Acheck_circle
The phonological loop
- B
The visuospatial sketchpad
- C
Long-term semantic memory
- D
The episodic buffer's autobiographical store
Explanation
Repeating "the the the" occupies the phonological loop, the same subsystem used to rehearse digits, producing strong interference.