scholarly journals Individual differences in cognitive offloading: a comparison of intention offloading, pattern copy, and short-term memory capacity

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hauke S. Meyerhoff ◽  
Sandra Grinschgl ◽  
Frank Papenmeier ◽  
Sam J. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Cognitive Offloading

AbstractThe cognitive load of many everyday life tasks exceeds known limitations of short-term memory. One strategy to compensate for information overload is cognitive offloading which refers to the externalization of cognitive processes such as reminder setting instead of memorizing. There appears to be remarkable variance in offloading behavior between participants which poses the question whether there is a common factor influencing offloading behavior across different tasks tackling short-term memory processes. To pursue this question, we studied individual differences in offloading behavior between two well-established offloading paradigms: the intention offloading task which tackles memory for intentions and the pattern copy task which tackles continuous short-term memory load. Our study also included an unrelated task measuring short-term memory capacity. Each participant completed all tasks twice on two consecutive days in order to obtain reliability scores. Despite high reliability scores, individual differences in offloading behavior were uncorrelated between the two offloading tasks. In both tasks, however, individual differences in offloading behavior were correlated with the individual differences in an unrelated short-term memory task. Our results therefore show that offloading behavior cannot simply be explained in terms of a single common factor driving offloading behavior across tasks. We discuss the implications of this finding for future research investigating the interrelations of offloading behavior across different tasks.

scholarly journals Individual differences in cognitive offloading: A comparison of intention offloading, pattern copy, and short-term memory capacity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hauke S. Meyerhoff ◽  
Sandra Grinschgl ◽  
Frank Papenmeier ◽  
Sam Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Cognitive Offloading

The cognitive load of many everyday life tasks exceeds known limitations of short-term memory. One strategy to compensate for information overload is cognitive offloading which refers to the externalization of cognitive processes such as reminder setting instead of memorizing. There appears to be remarkable variance in offloading behavior between participants which poses the question whether there is a common factor influencing offloading behavior across different tasks tackling short-term memory processes. To pursue this question, we studied individual differences in offloading behavior between two well-established offloading ¬¬paradigms: the intention offloading task which tackles memory for intentions and the pattern copy task which tackles continuous short-term memory load. Our study also included an unrelated task measuring short-term memory capacity. Each participant completed all tasks twice on two consecutive days in order to obtain reliability scores. Despite high reliability scores, individual differences in offloading behavior were uncorrelated between the two offloading tasks. In both tasks, however, individual differences in offloading behavior were correlated with the individual differences in an unrelated short-term memory task. Our results therefore show that offloading behavior cannot simply be explained in terms of a single common factor driving offloading behavior across tasks. We discuss the implications of this finding for future research investigating the interrelations of offloading behavior across different tasks.

Working Memory: Models and Applications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stoo Sepp ◽  
Steven J. Howard ◽  
Sharon Tindall-Ford ◽  
Shirley Agostinho ◽  
Fred Paas
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory

In 1956, Miller first reported on a capacity limitation in the amount of information the human brain can process, which was thought to be seven plus or minus two items. The system of memory used to process information for immediate use was coined “working memory” by Miller, Galanter, and Pribram in 1960. In 1968, Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed their multistore model of memory, which theorized that the memory system was separated into short-term memory, long-term memory, and the sensory register, the latter of which temporarily holds and forwards information from sensory inputs to short term-memory for processing. Baddeley and Hitch built upon the concept of multiple stores, leading to the development of the multicomponent model of working memory in 1974, which described two stores devoted to the processing of visuospatial and auditory information, both coordinated by a central executive system. Later, Cowan’s theorizing focused on attentional factors in the effortful and effortless activation and maintenance of information in working memory. In 1988, Cowan published his model—the scope and control of attention model. In contrast, since the early 2000s Engle has investigated working memory capacity through the lens of his individual differences model, which does not seek to quantify capacity in the same way as Miller or Cowan. Instead, this model describes working memory capacity as the interplay between primary memory (working memory), the control of attention, and secondary memory (long-term memory). This affords the opportunity to focus on individual differences in working memory capacity and extend theorizing beyond storage to the manipulation of complex information. These models and advancements have made significant contributions to understandings of learning and cognition, informing educational research and practice in particular. Emerging areas of inquiry include investigating use of gestures to support working memory processing, leveraging working memory measures as a means to target instructional strategies for individual learners, and working memory training. Given that working memory is still debated, and not yet fully understood, researchers continue to investigate its nature, its role in learning and development, and its implications for educational curricula, pedagogy, and practice.

Pure short-term memory capacity has implications for understanding individual differences in math skills

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Hecht ◽  
Todd K. Shackelford
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Math Skills ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Future Work

Future work is needed to establish that pure short-term memory is a coherent individual difference attribute that is separable from traditional compound short-term memory measures. Psychometric support for latent pure short-term memory capacity will provide an important starting point for future fine-grained analyses of the intrinsic factors that influence individual differences in math skills.

scholarly journals Individual differences in object-based selection are predicted by visual short-term memory capacity

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1161-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Lustig ◽  
D. J. Simons ◽  
A. Lleras ◽  
D. M. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Visual Short Term Memory ◽  
Object Based
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