Is there a Relationship between Task Demand and Storage Space in Tests of Working Memory Capacity?

1995 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.N. Towse ◽  
G.J. Hitch
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Demand ◽  
Storage Space ◽  
And Storage

The Web Version of the Exchange Test

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Schreiner ◽  
Michael Altmeyer ◽  
Karl Schweizer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Psychometric Evaluation ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Different Order ◽  
Storage Units ◽  
The Web

This paper provides a description of the web version of the Exchange Test and reports on the results of its psychometric evaluation. The Exchange Test is a measure of working memory capacity which is demanding to the central executive and storage units of working memory. It is composed of 60 items, spaced out evenly over five treatment levels of increasing difficulty. One item is composed of two arrays of symbols, the same four symbols in each array but in different order. The positions of the symbols within a single array have to be exchanged mentally until identical orders are obtained. The outcomes reflect the accuracy of counting the necessary exchanges and the time needed to perform this task. The results are based on data from 203 participants. The investigation of consistency indicated acceptable to good quality. Furthermore, the equivalence of the internal structure of the new and original versions was demonstrated. Most importantly, the scores proved to be highly correlated with fluid intelligence.

scholarly journals Memória de trabalho e produção oral da linguagem

2011 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Lenz Costa Lima ◽  
Edson Françozo
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Production Quality ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Time Reading ◽  
And Storage

In this paper, we examine the use of silent pauses made by high and low working memory span individuals, during the reading span test (the Brazilian Portuguese version), aiming at verifying possible strategies used by the subjects in order to accommodate the transient computational and storage demands that occur in the task. Our results are congruent with the idea that language production quality is also influenced by the subjects´ working memory capacity: high span subjects produced more sentences without pause, made shorter pauses, and therefore spent less time reading the test sentences than low span subjects.

Differential Effects of Executive Processes on Working Memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-249
Author(s):  
Xuezhu Ren ◽  
Tengfei Wang ◽  
Karl Schweizer ◽  
Jing Guo
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Executive Processes ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Prepotent Response ◽  
Two Measures

Abstract. Although attention control accounts for a unique portion of the variance in working memory capacity (WMC), the way in which attention control contributes to WMC has not been thoroughly specified. The current work focused on fractionating attention control into distinctly different executive processes and examined to what extent key processes of attention control including updating, shifting, and prepotent response inhibition were related to WMC and whether these relations were different. A number of 216 university students completed experimental tasks of attention control and two measures of WMC. Latent variable analyses were employed for separating and modeling each process and their effects on WMC. The results showed that both the accuracy of updating and shifting were substantially related to WMC while the link from the accuracy of inhibition to WMC was insignificant; on the other hand, only the speed of shifting had a moderate effect on WMC while neither the speed of updating nor the speed of inhibition showed significant effect on WMC. The results suggest that these key processes of attention control exhibit differential effects on individual differences in WMC. The approach that combined experimental manipulations and statistical modeling constitutes a promising way of investigating cognitive processes.

Working Memory Capacity and a Notorious Brain Teaser

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim De Neys ◽  
Niki Verschueren
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Normative Reasoning ◽  
Monty Hall Dilemma ◽  
Monty Hall ◽  
Memory Resources

Abstract. The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) is an intriguing example of the discrepancy between people’s intuitions and normative reasoning. This study examines whether the notorious difficulty of the MHD is associated with limitations in working memory resources. Experiment 1 and 2 examined the link between MHD reasoning and working memory capacity. Experiment 3 tested the role of working memory experimentally by burdening the executive resources with a secondary task. Results showed that participants who solved the MHD correctly had a significantly higher working memory capacity than erroneous responders. Correct responding also decreased under secondary task load. Findings indicate that working memory capacity plays a key role in overcoming salient intuitions and selecting the correct switching response during MHD reasoning.

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