What effect do tongue twisters have on memory span?

Tongue twisters primarily challenge articulation and phonological processing due to their rapid and complex phonetic structures. When participants engage with tongue twisters, they may experience an increase in cognitive load, which can detract from their overall ability to hold and manipulate verbal information in working memory.

As individuals struggle to articulate the complex sounds of tongue twisters, the cognitive resources required for this task may hinder performance on memory tasks, particularly those that involve similar phonetic elements. This increased difficulty can lead to a reduced capacity to remember and repeat back lists of words or other verbal material.

While tongue twisters can be entertaining and serve as a good exercise for speech clarity, their impact on memory span is generally negative, as they tax the phonological loop of working memory, making it harder to retain information. Thus, the assertion that they reduce memory span aligns with the cognitive demands they impose during articulation.