Phonological Similarity Effect

The Phonological Similarity Effect refers to the difficulty people experience when trying to remember a list of words or items that sound alike, such as "cat," "cap," and "cab." Because these items sound similar, our memory confuses them, making it harder to distinguish and recall each one accurately. This effect highlights how our short-term memory uses sound-based (phonological) information to hold and organize verbal information, and that similar-sounding items can interfere with memory performance.