時間次序與空間位置訊息於記憶運作中的運用：以失聰手語使用者為例

Temporal order and spatial information in short-term memory: Evidence from deaf Taiwanese signers

失聰手語使用者短期記憶能力較弱原因，可能是手語視覺空間形式不擅於時 間次序的記憶運作所致。本研究欲探討短期記憶，失聰手語者與聽力正常非手語 者於時間次序運作的異同，以及時間次序與空間位置對其短期記憶的影響。實驗 一比較失聰手語者與聽常非手語者於三種不同時間空間一致性下，兩種刺激（數 字、中文雙字詞）之項目再認表現。時間空間一致性包含時間空間一致（刺激依 序由左至右呈現）、時間空間不一致（數字刺激隨機出現）與僅有時間次序（刺 激依序呈現於螢幕中央）等，此效果可反映出內在時間次序與空間位置之整合運 作狀況；實驗二探討不同時間空間一致性下，數字刺激的項目與位置再認表現； 實驗三中，運用兩種隨機出現作業（25% 項目及位置再認，75% 項目再認），探 討在偶發性的位置判斷作業時，時間空間一致性之影響。本研究結果為：實驗一 發現兩族群都出現序列位置效果，於時間空間一致情境優於僅有時間次序；實驗 二發現兩族群僅在正確率中有一致性優勢；實驗三發現失聰手語者於項目與位置 再認表現明顯劣於聽常非手語者，但於項目再認中相對差異較小。除了時間次序 外，同時提供有規律的空間位置可以協助短期記憶表現；時間次序與空間位置整 合是於作業要求下發生，符合時間次序與空間位置兩者平行但可彙整的論點。失 聰手語者與聽常非手語者有相似的內隱時間次序運作，但被要求回憶位置時，失 聰手語者整合時間次序與空間位置運作，會需要耗費較多的認知資源。

In working and short-term memory processes， to-be-remembered items and their temporal orders can be more accurately maintained by an auditory system than a visual system. Thus， previous studies have reported that deaf signers have poorer memory performance or digit span than nondeaf people. By contrast， deaf signers showed more favorable performance with respect to visuospatial processes and mental image operations. We hypothesized that deaf signers benefit from the short-term memory condition with spatial location cues. Purpose: This research investigated the processing and organization of temporal order and spatial location in short-term memory among deaf people. Methods: Experiment 1 explored item recognition performance (digits and Chinese two-character words) when the temporal and spatial order had varying levels of consistency. This consistency was categorized under three conditions: temporal-spatial consistent， temporal-spatial inconsistent， and temporal order only. In the temporal-spatial consistent condition， items were sequentially presented from left to right; in the temporal-spatial inconsistent condition， items were presented sequentially in random locations. In the third condition， the items were sequentially presented in the center of the screen. In Experiment 2， participants were requested to recognize items and their corresponding locations during consistent and inconsistent temporal and spatial orders. In Experiment 3， the independent variables included not only the consistency of the temporal and spatial orders but also the tasks (item and location recognition task and item recognition task). Participants’ tasks comprised 25% item and location recognition task and 75% item-only task. Results/Findings: In Experiment 1， we observed the recency effect and superiority of the temporal-spatial consistent condition in addition to that of the temporal-order-only condition， reflecting the similar nature of implicit processing in the temporal order among deaf signers and nondeaf people. Both groups also organized temporal and spatial orders in a similar manner. In Experiment 2， both groups had more accurate memory in the temporal-spatial consistent condition. In Experiment 3， the deaf signers had significantly lower accuracy than the nondeaf people with respect to the item and location tasks as compared to the item-only task. Conclusions/Implications: Both groups reorganized temporal order and spatial locations only when location recognition was required. In addition， deaf signers benefitted from short-term memory tasks with spatial location cues and conducted order processes in a manner similar to that of nondeaf people， although with less efficient retrieval. In conclusion， providing appropriate spatial locations for deaf signers can improve their memory performance.