Phonetic coding and order memory in relation to reading proficiency: A comparison of short-term memory for temporal and spatial order information

Abstract

Since children with reading disability are known to have problems using a phonetic memory strategy, it was expected that their recall of order would be inferior to that of good readers in situations where a phonetic strategy is optimal, i.e., when temporal order recall, but not necessarily spatial order recall, is required. On separate tests for retention of temporal sequence and spatial location, the good readers were better than the poor readers on the temporal order task as expected, but contrary to expectation, they maintained their superiority on the spatial task as well. Nevertheless, differences in the error patterns of the good and the poor readers are supportive of earlier evidence that links poor readers' short-term memory deficiencies to reduced effectiveness of phonetic representation.