Table 6.

Observed and expected STM span means in Experiment 2, by word length, presentation modality, and participants' M-capacity.

Modality	Word length	M-capacity	Obs. mean	Exp. mean	t	d.f.	p
Visual	2 syllables	e + 5	4.32	3.98	2.64	55	<0.05
Visual	2 syllables	e + 6	4.38	4.49	−1.31	103	n.s.
Visual	2 syllables	e + 7	5.02	5.07	−0.55	142	n.s.
Visual	4 syllables	e + 5	3.56	3.30	2.04	55	<0.05
Visual	4 syllables	e + 6	3.91	3.79	1.55	103	n.s.
Visual	4 syllables	e + 7	4.31	4.51	−2.45	142	<0.05
Auditory	2 syllables	e + 5	4.44	4.11	3.20	55	<0.01
Auditory	2 syllables	e + 6	4.53	4.59	0.72	103	n.s.
Auditory	2 syllables	e + 7	5.06	5.14	−0.98	142	n.s.
Auditory	4 syllables	e + 5	4.12	3.62	4.40	55	<0.001
Auditory	4 syllables	e + 6	4.11	4.12	−0.02	103	n.s.
Auditory	4 syllables	e + 7	4.57	4.77	−2.37	142	<0.05