Improving the passive tactile digit span

Abstract

Two experiments evaluated the effect of interstimulus interval (ISI) on recall of digit sequences printed on the palms. Digits were printed with ISIs of 1 or 5 sec. Half of the patterns were drawn on the left palm and half on the right. High levels of accuracy were obtained in both experiments with the 5-sec rate. The passive tactile digit span was nearly seven at the slower rate, but much less at 1-sec ISIs. © 1987, The Psychonomic Soceity, Inc.. All rights reserved.