In this study, we investigated letter-space associations revealed in a go/no-go consonant-vowel classification task, while manipulating working-memory demands:
- low in Exp. 1, where no ordinal letter sequence was to be maintained (no-go trials: non-letter symbols)
- intermediate in Exp. 2, where an ordinal letter sequence was to be maintained (no-go trials: non-letter symbols)
- high in Exp. 3, where an ordinal letter sequence was to be maintained and retrieved during the consonant-vowel classification task (no-go trials: letters outside the sequence)
We detected letter-space associations based on the alphabet stored in long-term memory (i.e., letters earlier/later in the alphabet with left/right, respectively = SAARC effect) in all three experiments.
However, letter-space associations based on the working memory sequence (i.e., letters earlier/later in the sequence with left/right, respectively = OPE/SPoARC effect) were only detected in Exp. 3.
Thus, spatial short- and long-term associations of letters seem to coexist!