Pronunciation and apparent frequency

Four experiments were conducted to test the assumption of frequency theory that pronouncing a word increases its apparent frequency of presentation. The first two experiments required comparative judgments (selecting the more frequent member of a test pair); the remaining experiments required absolute judgments (estimating the number of times each test word was presented). The results indicated that pronouncing a word does increase its apparent frequency. However, the pronunciation effect was much smaller than the effect of an increment in actual frequency, and was observed only when a within- S manipulation of pronunciation was employed. It was suggested that pronunciation responses do not produce the same type of memorial change as increments in frequency of presentation.