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Access to Inner Language Enhances Memory for Events

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Title: Access to Inner Language Enhances Memory for Events
Language: English
Authors: Briony Banks, Louise Connell (ORCID 0000-0002-5291-5267)
Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2024 50(10):1592-1615.
Availability: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 24
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Inner Speech (Subvocal), Recall (Psychology), Language Role, Language Usage, Duplication, Foreign Countries, Nonverbal Learning, Learning Processes, Cognitive Style
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
DOI: 10.1037/xlm0001351
ISSN: 0278-7393
1939-1285
Abstract: Events are temporally bounded experiences involving people, objects, and actions that can be segmented into sequences of smaller, meaningful events (e.g., steps involved in constructing a piece of furniture), but the role of inner language in remembering such events has been unclear. We investigated whether inner language enhances memory for events in a naturalistic, nonverbal task where participants constructed simple models from memory. Across three experiments, we used linguistic suppression in a dual-task paradigm to test whether inner language improved overall memory performance and completion time, additionally exploring the number of events that could be recalled. We found that access to inner language at encoding consistently affected memory performance: when inner language was disrupted at encoding, participants were poorer at recalling the models and remembered fewer events. This effect was present whether or not the number of events to be recalled exceed event memory capacity (estimated as approximately seven to eight events). Critically, linguistic suppression impaired memory performance to a greater extent than a control secondary task that did not affect access to language; that is, impairment was not solely due to dual-task interference. The results support the proposal that inner language enhances event memory via a mechanism of linguistic bootstrapping, which makes event representation more efficient by allowing more information to be encoded in an event model even when language is not being used in the task. These findings therefore extend theories of event memory and add to a growing body of evidence that inner language is a highly valuable cognitive tool.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://osf.io/v8q47
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1508026
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Access to Inner Language Enhances Memory for Events
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Briony+Banks%22">Briony Banks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Louise+Connell%22">Louise Connell</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5291-5267">0000-0002-5291-5267</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Experimental+Psychology%3A+Learning%2C+Memory%2C+and+Cognition%22"><i>Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition</i></searchLink>. 2024 50(10):1592-1615.
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  Data: American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
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  Data: 24
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inner+Speech+%28Subvocal%29%22">Inner Speech (Subvocal)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Recall+%28Psychology%29%22">Recall (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Role%22">Language Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Usage%22">Language Usage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Duplication%22">Duplication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nonverbal+Learning%22">Nonverbal Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+Processes%22">Learning Processes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+Style%22">Cognitive Style</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1037/xlm0001351
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  Data: 0278-7393<br />1939-1285
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Events are temporally bounded experiences involving people, objects, and actions that can be segmented into sequences of smaller, meaningful events (e.g., steps involved in constructing a piece of furniture), but the role of inner language in remembering such events has been unclear. We investigated whether inner language enhances memory for events in a naturalistic, nonverbal task where participants constructed simple models from memory. Across three experiments, we used linguistic suppression in a dual-task paradigm to test whether inner language improved overall memory performance and completion time, additionally exploring the number of events that could be recalled. We found that access to inner language at encoding consistently affected memory performance: when inner language was disrupted at encoding, participants were poorer at recalling the models and remembered fewer events. This effect was present whether or not the number of events to be recalled exceed event memory capacity (estimated as approximately seven to eight events). Critically, linguistic suppression impaired memory performance to a greater extent than a control secondary task that did not affect access to language; that is, impairment was not solely due to dual-task interference. The results support the proposal that inner language enhances event memory via a mechanism of linguistic bootstrapping, which makes event representation more efficient by allowing more information to be encoded in an event model even when language is not being used in the task. These findings therefore extend theories of event memory and add to a growing body of evidence that inner language is a highly valuable cognitive tool.
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  Data: https://osf.io/v8q47
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  Data: 2026
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        Value: 10.1037/xlm0001351
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 24
        StartPage: 1592
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      – SubjectFull: Inner Speech (Subvocal)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Recall (Psychology)
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      – SubjectFull: Language Role
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      – SubjectFull: Language Usage
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      – SubjectFull: Duplication
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
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      – SubjectFull: Nonverbal Learning
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      – SubjectFull: Learning Processes
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      – SubjectFull: Cognitive Style
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (England)
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      – TitleFull: Access to Inner Language Enhances Memory for Events
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              M: 10
              Type: published
              Y: 2024
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