The word-length effect refers to the phenomenon where it is more difficult to remember lists of long words compared to lists of short words, even when the number of words is the same. This effect has been demonstrated in many studies, and it is thought to be due to the way that our working memory system works.
Working memory is a cognitive system that is responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information in our minds. It has a limited capacity, which means that it can only hold a certain amount of information at a time. When we are presented with a list of words, each word takes up some of the available space in our working memory. Longer words take up more space than shorter words, which means that we can remember fewer of them at once.
In addition to the length of the words, other factors can also affect our ability to remember lists of words. For example, words that are similar in meaning or sound may be more difficult to remember because they can be easily confused with each other. Similarly, words that are more familiar to us may be easier to remember because they are already stored in our long-term memory.
memory system and highlights the importance of considering cognitive limitations when designing tasks that require memory.