scholarly journals Toward Objective Evaluation of Working Memory in Visualizations: A Case Study Using Pupillometry and a Dual-Task Paradigm

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 332-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lace M.K. Padilla ◽  
Spencer C. Castro ◽  
P. Samuel Quinan ◽  
Ian T. Ruginski ◽  
Sarah H. Creem-Regehr
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

scholarly journals Toward Objective Evaluation of Working Memory in Visualizations: A Case Study Using Pupillometry and a Dual-Task Paradigm

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lace Padilla ◽  
Spencer Castro ◽  
Q. Samuel Quinan ◽  
Ian Tanner Ruginski ◽  
Sarah Creem-Regehr
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Task Completion ◽  
Dual Tasking ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Relative Differences

Cognitive science has established widely used and validated procedures for evaluating working memory in numerous applied domains, but surprisingly few studies have employed these methodologies to assess claims about the impacts of visualizations on working memory. The lack of information visualization research that uses validated procedures for measuring working memory may be due, in part, to the absence of cross-domain methodological guidance tailored explicitly to the unique needs of visualization research. This paper presents a set of clear, practical, and empirically validated methods for evaluating working memory during visualization tasks and provides readers with guidance in selecting an appropriate working memory evaluation paradigm. As a case study, we illustrate multiple methods for evaluating working memory in a visual-spatial aggregation task with geospatial data. The results show that the use of dual-task experimental designs (simultaneous performance of several tasks compared to single-task performance) and pupil dilation can reveal working memory demands associated with task difficulty and dual-tasking. In a dual-task experimental design, measures of task completion times and pupillometry revealed the working memory demands associated with both task difficulty and dual-tasking. Pupillometry demonstrated that participants’ pupils were significantly larger when they were completing a more difficult task and when multitasking. We propose that researchers interested in the relative differences in working memory between visualizations should consider a converging methods approach, where physiological measures and behavioral measures of working memory are employed to generate a rich evaluation of visualization effort.

The art of planning ahead: when do we prepare for the future and when is it effective? (under review)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Huijser ◽  
Niels Anne Taatgen ◽  
Marieke K. van Vugt
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Task Preparation ◽  
Memory Integration ◽  
The Future ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm ◽  
Consistent Support

Preparing for the future during ongoing activities is an essential skill. Yet, it is currently unclear to what extent we can prepare for the future in parallel with another task. In two experiments, we investigated how characteristics of a present task influenced whether and when participants prepared for the future, as well as its usefulness. We focused on the influence of concurrent working memory load, assuming that working memory would interfere most strongly with preparation. In both experiments, participants performed a novel sequential dual-task paradigm, in which they could voluntary prepare for a second task while performing a first task. We identified task preparation by means of eye tracking, through detecting when participants switched their gaze from the first to the second task. The results showed that participants prepared productively, as evidenced by faster RTs on the second task, with only a small cost to the present task. The probability of preparation and its productiveness decreased with general increases in present task difficulty. In contrast to our prediction, we found some but no consistent support for influence of concurrent working memory load on preparation. Only for concurrent high working memory load (i.e., two items in memory), we observed strong interference with preparation. We conclude that preparation is affected by present task difficulty, potentially due to decreased opportunities for preparation and changes in multitasking strategy. Furthermore, the interference from holding two items may reflect that concurrent preparation is compromised when working memory integration is required by both processes.

Working memory impairments in multiple sclerosis: Evidence from a dual-task paradigm.

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D'Esposito ◽  
Kris Onishi ◽  
Heidi Thompson ◽  
Keith Robinson ◽  
Carol Armstrong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Memory Impairments ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

Does Working Memory Enhance or Interfere With Speech Fluency in Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter? Evidence From a Dual-Task Paradigm

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Eichorn ◽  
Klara Marton ◽  
Richard G. Schwartz ◽  
Robert D. Melara ◽  
Steven Pirutinsky
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Speech Fluency ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Speaking Task

Purpose The present study examined whether engaging working memory in a secondary task benefits speech fluency. Effects of dual-task conditions on speech fluency, rate, and errors were examined with respect to predictions derived from three related theoretical accounts of disfluencies. Method Nineteen adults who stutter and twenty adults who do not stutter participated in the study. All participants completed 2 baseline tasks: a continuous-speaking task and a working-memory (WM) task involving manipulations of domain, load, and interstimulus interval. In the dual-task portion of the experiment, participants simultaneously performed the speaking task with each unique combination of WM conditions. Results All speakers showed similar fluency benefits and decrements in WM accuracy as a result of dual-task conditions. Fluency effects were specific to atypical forms of disfluency and were comparable across WM-task manipulations. Changes in fluency were accompanied by reductions in speaking rate but not by corresponding changes in overt errors. Conclusions Findings suggest that WM contributes to disfluencies regardless of stuttering status and that engaging WM resources while speaking enhances fluency. Further research is needed to verify the cognitive mechanism involved in this effect and to determine how these findings can best inform clinical intervention.

scholarly journals Working Memory Deficits in Dynamic Sport Athletes with a History of Concussion Revealed by A Visual-Auditory Dual-Task Paradigm

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 1065
Author(s):  
Anthony Tapper ◽  
Ewa Niechwiej-Szwedo ◽  
David Gonzalez ◽  
Eric Roy
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

Effects of nicotine on electroencephalographic (EEG) and behavioural measures of visual working memory in non-smokers during a dual-task paradigm

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek J. Fisher ◽  
Amy Knobelsdorf ◽  
Natalia Jaworska ◽  
Richelle Daniels ◽  
Verner J. Knott
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

scholarly journals Following instructions in a dual-task paradigm: Evidence for a temporary motor store in working memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 2439-2449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka J Jaroslawska ◽  
Susan E Gathercole ◽  
Joni Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Repetitive Sequences ◽  
Phonological Loop ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Immediate Memory ◽  
Verbal Instructions ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
Action Sequences ◽  
Dual Task Paradigm

Evidence from dual-task studies suggests that working memory supports the retention and implementation of verbal instructions. One key finding that is not readily accommodated by existing models of working memory is that participants are consistently more accurate at physically performing rather than verbally repeating a sequence of commands. This action advantage has no obvious source within the multi-component model of working memory and has been proposed to be driven by an as yet undetected limited-capacity store dedicated to the temporary maintenance of spatial, motoric, and temporal features of intended movements. To test this hypothesis, we sought to selectively disrupt the action advantage with concurrent motor suppression. In three dual-task experiments, young adults’ immediate memory for sequences of spoken instructions was assessed by both action-based and spoken recall. In addition to classic interference tasks known to tax the phonological loop and central executive, motor suppression tasks designed to impair the encoding and retention of motoric representations were included. These required participants to produce repetitive sequences of either fine motor gestures (Experiment 1, N = 16) or more basic ones (Experiments 2, N = 16, and 3, N = 16). The benefit of action-based recall was reduced following the production of basic gestures but remained intact under all other interference conditions. These results suggest that the mnemonic advantage of enacted recall depends on a cognitive system dedicated to the temporary maintenance of motoric representations of planned action sequences.

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