Working memory only matters when the listening task is acoustically hard

Evidence

While the RST did predict intelligibility, the effect was stronger for acoustically difficult listening situations (low SNR). The data provide support for the notion that the relationship between RST and speech perception depends on the listening situations and that inconsistent results in the literature may have occurred because not all speech tasks engage WM processes enough to lead to a reliable correlation. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1229

Categorization

• QUESTION: This offers a mechanistic explanation for literature inconsistencies — that easy speech tasks simply don’t load working memory. Could be confirmed or refuted by meta-analysis.