Visual vs. Auditory Memory in an Aviation Task: a Potential Performance Theory Analysis

Information can be relayed to pilots by visual presentation or auditory presentation; both methods are frequently used. To date, there is quite a bit of conflicting literature regarding which type of communication is most effective for recalling information. The current study tested memory differences between digits presented visually or audibly in number strings. Results showed that performance in the visual presentation condition was superior to the auditory presentation condition. However, when a PPT analysis was conducted on the data, it was revealed that performance in the visual condition was only superior because participants were more consistent in that condition compared to the auditory condition. In other words, had participants been perfectly consistent in both modalities, there would have been no differences in performance. We conclude that inconsistency, and not different strategies, was responsible for the increased performance of visual memory over auditory memory.