Strategic and unpressured within-task planning and their associations with working memory

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaofeng Li ◽  
Mengxia Fu
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Operation Span ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Task Conditions

This study investigated the comparative effects of strategic and unpressured within-task planning on second language (L2) Chinese oral production and the role of working memory in mediating the effects of the two types of planning. Twenty-nine L2 Chinese learners at a large New Zealand university performed a narrative task after watching a 6-minute silent movie, followed by an operation span test gauging the learners’ working memory capacity. The results revealed that (1) strategic planning enhanced fluency and unpressured within-task planning led to greater accuracy and syntactic complexity, (2) strategic planning facilitated the production of a syntactically transparent structure, while unpressured within-task planning showed an advantage for opaque, complex structures, and (3) working memory was drawn upon in unpressured within-task planning, but barely so in strategic planning. The data show that strategic planning benefits the Conceptualizer while unpressured within-task planning favors the Formulator. The data also suggest that the role of cognitive abilities in task performance is contingent upon the processing demands of different task conditions.

scholarly journals Resuming a Dynamic Task Following Increasingly Long Interruptions: The Role of Working Memory and Reconstruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Labonté ◽  
François Vachon
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Dynamic Task ◽  
Task Interruption ◽  
Task Resumption

Studies examining individual differences in interruption recovery have shown that higher working memory capacity (WMC) attenuated the negative impact of interruption length on resumption, at least in static contexts. In continuously evolving (or dynamic) situations, however, working memory may not be as central to the effective resumption of a task, especially in the case of long interruptions. One of the main theories of task interruption suggests that dynamic task resumption could depend on a reconstruction of the primary task context, that is, a visual examination of the post-interruption environment. To better define the role of working memory and reconstruction processes in interruption recovery, the current study examined the association between (1) dynamic task resumption following interruptions of various lengths and (2) two cognitive abilities chosen to operationalize the processes under study, namely, WMC and visual search capacity. Participants performed a multiple object tracking task which could be uninterrupted or interrupted for 5, 15, or 30 s while the hidden stimuli continued their trajectory. They also completed tasks measuring the two cognitive abilities of interest. The results revealed that WMC contributed to post-interruption accuracy regardless of interruption duration. On the contrary, visual search capacity was related to faster resumption in the 15-s and 30-s interruption conditions only. Those results show that working memory plays a preponderant role in resumption not only in static, but also in dynamic contexts. However, our study suggests that this mechanism must share the limelight with reconstruction following lengthy interruptions in dynamic settings.

Working memory and planning time as predictors of fluency and accuracy

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Brown Nielson ◽  
Robert DeKeyser
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Story Telling ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Planning Time ◽  
Task Conditions

Abstract Working memory, which accounts for the ability to process information in the face of interference, is critical to second language acquisition (SLA) and use. The interaction of working memory capacity (WMC) with specific pedagogical interventions is a logical place for empirical SLA research, both to examine the cognitive processes underpinning second language performance and to identify instructional treatments that may serve learners differently based on their WMC. This study considers WMC along with two different types of pre-task planning time (guided and unguided) as predictors of the attempted accuracy and fluency of learners’ discourse. Seventy-two intermediate ESL students from seven classes at a community college participated by completing two different working memory span tasks, as well as two different “There-and-Then” oral story-telling tasks. The treatment condition of the story-telling tasks was manipulated so that learners’ performance could be considered in terms of provision of pre-task planning (+/− planning), type of planning (guided vs. unguided), and order of planning (planning first or planning second). Task order had a clear effect on learners’ production, regardless of the provision of planning time. Guided planning time promoted a focus on attempted accuracy and unguided planning time fostered fluency. Finally, this study indicates that task conditions can affect high- and low-WMC learners in different ways: the former are more likely to comply with complex story-telling instructions, requiring them to focus on grammatical form at the expense of fluency, whereas the latter are less likely to comply with the same instructions.

scholarly journals The Important Role of Contextual Information in Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users and Its Consequences in Speech Tests

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 233121651983867 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gertjan Dingemanse ◽  
André Goedegebure
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Use Context

This study investigated the role of contextual information in speech intelligibility, the influence of verbal working memory on the use of contextual information, and the suitability of an ecologically valid sentence test containing contextual information, compared with a CNC (Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant) word test, in cochlear implant (CI) users. Speech intelligibility performance was assessed in 50 postlingual adult CI users on sentence lists and on CNC word lists. Results were compared with a normal-hearing (NH) group. The influence of contextual information was calculated from three different context models. Working memory capacity was measured with a Reading Span Test. CI recipients made significantly more use of contextual information in recognition of CNC words and sentences than NH listeners. Their use of contextual information in sentences was related to verbal working memory capacity but not to age, indicating that the ability to use context is dependent on cognitive abilities, regardless of age. The presence of context in sentences enhanced the sensitivity to differences in sensory bottom-up information but also increased the risk of a ceiling effect. A sentence test appeared to be suitable in CI users if word scoring is used and noise is added for the best performers.

scholarly journals Differences in Attainment and Performance in a Foreign Language: The Role of Working Memory Capacity

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Gilabert ◽  
Carmen Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
And Performance

The goal of this study is to investigate the role of working memory capacity in L2 attainment and performance. The study uses an L1 reading span task to measure working memory of a group of 59 high- intermediate/advanced learners of English, and a film retelling task to measure their oral production. The analysis first showed a moderate to high correlation between proficiency measured by a general proficiency test and learners’ fluency, lexical complexity, and accuracy but not structural complexity on the retelling task. Secondly, no correlation was found between overall proficiency and working memory. Thirdly, a weak correlation was found between fluency and lexical complexity, and working memory. When the group was split into top and bottom levels of proficiency, moderate correlations were found between lexical complexity and working memory only for the high-proficiency group. The results are discussed in the light of previous research.

scholarly journals Effects of Depressed Mood on Syllogistic Reasoning: The Buffering Role of High Working Memory Span

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslaw Wasielewski ◽  
Klara Rydzewska ◽  
Grzegorz Sedek
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Depressed Mood ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Syllogistic Reasoning ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Operation Span ◽  
High Level

Previous research provided consistent evidence for the existence of the unique cognitive limitation in depressed mood: the impairment of the construction of mental models. In the current research, we applied the classical paradigm using categorical syllogisms to examine the relationship between depressed mood and integrative reasoning, aiming at gathering research evidence on the moderating role of the operation span of working memory. Specifically, we examine the hypothesis that high working memory capacity is a buffering variable and acts as a protective factor preventing the negative impact of depressed mood on syllogistic reasoning. A categorical syllogism, in the simpler evaluative form, consists of two premises (that are assumed to be true) and a conclusion that is to be evaluated as valid (when it follows logically from the premises) or invalid (when it does not follow from the premises). In the cover story, we informed participants that they would read about some observations carried out in a normal garden (believable conclusions) versus in a garden with radical genetic transformations (unbelievable conclusions) in order to stimulate the emergence of belief bias. The participants were 115 high school students who filled out the BDI scale and completed the OSPAN task. In line with predictions, there were main effects of depressed mood and operation span on the accuracy of performance (worse performance in the group with a high in comparison to a low level of depressed mood and much worse performance in low compared to high OSPAN participants). The analyses yielded a strong interaction effect of Depressed mood × OSPAN × Conflict. For participants with high levels of working memory capacity, there were no limitations related to a high level of depressed mood in syllogistic reasoning. On the other hand, a different pattern emerged for participants with low working memory span. In this group, participants with a high level of depressed mood in comparison to those with a low level of depressed mood showed much higher limitations in syllogistic reasoning, especially in reasoning concerning conflict syllogisms. We discuss the implications of this research for recent therapeutic programs using computerized cognitive tasks aimed at individuals with a high level of depressed mood.

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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