In press, JEP:General Evidence against Decay in Verbal Working Memory

2 The article tests the assuption that forgetting in working memory for verbal materials is caused by time-based decay, using the complex-span paradigm. Participants encoded six letters for serial recall; each letter was preceded and followed by a processing period comprising four trials of difficult visual search. Processing duration, during which memory could decay, was manipulated via search set size. This manipulation increased retention interval by up to 100 % without having any effect on recall accuracy. This result held with and without articulatory suppression. Two experiments using a dual-task paradigm showed that the visual-search process required central attention. Thus, even when memory maintenance by central attention and by articulatory rehearsal was prevented, a large delay had no effect on memory, contrary to the decay notion. Most previous experiments that manipulated the retention interval and the opportunity for maintenance processes in complex span have confounded these variables with time pressure during processing periods. Three further experiments identified time pressure as the variable that affected memory. The authors conclude that time-based decay does not contribute to the capacity limit of verbal working memory