scholarly journals Individual Differences in Memory and Attention Processes in Prospective Remembering

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter Ball ◽  
Elizabeth A. Wiemers ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer

Successful prospective memory (PM) involves not only detecting that an environmental cue requires action (i.e., prospective component), but also retrieval of what is supposed to be done at the appropriate moment (i.e., retrospective component). The current study examined the role of attention and memory during PM tasks that placed distinct demands on detection and retrieval processes. Using a large-scale individual differences design, participants completed three PM tasks that placed high demands on detection (but low demands on retrieval) and three tasks that placed high demands on retrieval (but low demands on detection). Additionally, participants completed three attention control, retrospective memory, and working memory tasks. Latent variable structural equation modeling showed that the prospective and retrospective components of PM were jointly influenced by multiple cognitive abilities. Critically, attention and retrospective memory fully mediated the relation between working memory and prospective memory. Furthermore, only attention uniquely predicted PM detection, whereas only retrospective memory uniquely predicted PM retrieval. These findings highlight the value of independently assessing different PM components and suggest that both attention and memory abilities must be considered to fully understand the dynamic processes underlying prospective remembering.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter Ball ◽  
Elizabeth A. Wiemers ◽  
Gene Brewer

Successful prospective memory (PM) involves not only detecting that an environmental cue requires action (i.e., prospective component), but also retrieval of what is supposed to be done at the appropriate moment (i.e., retrospective component). The current study examined the role of attention and memory during PM tasks that placed distinct demands on detection and retrieval processes. Using a large-scale individual differences design, participants completed three PM tasks that placed high demands on detection (but low demands on retrieval) and three tasks that placed high demands on retrieval (but low demands on detection). Additionally, participants completed three attention control, retrospective memory, and working memory tasks. Latent variable structural equation modeling showed that the prospective and retrospective components of PM were jointly influenced by multiple cognitive abilities. Critically, attention and retrospective memory fully mediated the relation between working memory and prospective memory. Furthermore, only attention uniquely predicted PM detection, whereas only retrospective memory uniquely predicted PM retrieval. These findings highlight the value of independently assessing different PM components and suggest that both attention and memory abilities must be considered to fully understand the dynamic processes underlying prospective remembering.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelly Renee Cooper ◽  
Joshua James Jackson ◽  
Deanna Barch ◽  
Todd Samuel Braver

Neuroimaging data is being increasingly utilized to address questions of individual difference. When examined with task-related fMRI (t-fMRI), individual differences are typically investigated via correlations between the BOLD activation signal at every voxel and a particular behavioral measure. This can be problematic because: 1) correlational designs require evaluation of t-fMRI psychometric properties, yet these are not well understood; and 2) bivariate correlations are severely limited in modeling the complexities of brain-behavior relationships. Analytic tools from psychometric theory such as latent variable modeling (e.g., structural equation modeling) can help simultaneously address both concerns. This review explores the advantages gained from integrating psychometric theory and methods with cognitive neuroscience for the assessment and interpretation of individual differences. The first section provides background on classic and modern psychometric theories and analytics. The second section details current approaches to t-fMRI individual difference analyses and their psychometric limitations. The last section uses data from the Human Connectome Project to provide illustrative examples of how t-fMRI individual differences research can benefit by utilizing latent variable models.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blake L. Elliott ◽  
Samuel M. McClure ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer

Prioritized encoding and retrieval of valuable information is an essential component of human memory due to capacity limits. Individual differences in value-directed encoding may derive from variability in stimulus valuation, memory encoding, or from strategic abilities related to maintenance in working memory. We collected multiple cognitive ability measures to test whether variation in episodic memory, working memory capacity, or both predict differences in value-directed remembering among a large sample of participants (n=205). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was used to assess the contributions of episodic and working memory to value sensitivity in value-directed remembering tasks. Episodic memory ability, but not working memory capacity, was predictive of value-directed remembering. These results suggest that cognitive processes may be differentially related to value-based memory encoding.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alodie Rey-Mermet ◽  
Kris Singh ◽  
Gilles E Gignac ◽  
Christopher Brydges ◽  
Ullrich K. H. Ecker

Working memory (WM) is a system for maintenance of and access to a limited number of goal-relevant representations in the service of higher cognition. Because of its limited capacity, WM requires interference-control processes, allowing us to avoid being distracted by irrelevant information. Recent research has proposed two interference-control processes, which are conceptually similar: (1) an active, item-wise removal process assumed to remove no-longer relevant information from WM, and (2) an inhibitory process assumed to suppress the activation of distractors against competing, goal-relevant representations. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which removal and inhibition are the same construct. Results showed acceptable to good reliabilities for nearly all measures. Similar to previous studies, a structural equation modeling approach identified a reliable latent variable of removal. However, also similar to some previous studies, no latent variable of inhibition could be established. This was the case even when the correlation matrix used to compute the latent variable of inhibition was disattenuated for imperfect reliability. Critically, the individual measures of inhibition were unrelated to the latent variable of removal. These results provide tentative support for the notion that removal is not an inhibitory process. This suggests that the removal process should be conceptualized as a process independent of inhibition, as proposed in computational WM models that implement removal as the “unbinding” of a WM item from the context in which it occurred.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243053
Author(s):  
Alodie Rey-Mermet ◽  
Krishneil A. Singh ◽  
Gilles E. Gignac ◽  
Christopher R. Brydges ◽  
Ullrich K. H. Ecker

Working memory (WM) is a system for maintenance of and access to a limited number of goal-relevant representations in the service of higher cognition. Because of its limited capacity, WM requires interference-control processes, allowing us to avoid being distracted by irrelevant information. Recent research has proposed two interference-control processes, which are conceptually similar: (1) an active, item-wise removal process assumed to remove no-longer relevant information from WM, and (2) an inhibitory process assumed to suppress the activation of distractors against competing, goal-relevant representations. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the tasks used to assess removal and inhibition measure the same interference-control construct. Results showed acceptable to good reliabilities for nearly all measures. Similar to previous studies, a structural equation modeling approach identified a reliable latent variable of removal. However, also similar to some previous studies, no latent variable of inhibition could be established. This was the case even when the correlation matrix used to compute the latent variable of inhibition was disattenuated for imperfect reliability. Critically, the individual measures of inhibition were unrelated to the latent variable of removal. These results provide tentative support for the notion that removal is not related to the interference-control processes assessed in inhibition tasks. This suggests that the removal process should be conceptualized as a process independent of the concept of inhibition, as proposed in computational WM models that implement removal as the “unbinding” of a WM item from the context in which it occurred.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 496-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarit Ashkenazi ◽  
Sarit Silverman

Current theoretical approaches point to the importance of several cognitive skills not specific to mathematics for the etiology of mathematics disorders (MD). In the current study, we examined the role of many of these skills, specifically: rapid automatized naming, attention, reading, and visual perception, on mathematics performance among a large group of college students (N = 1,322) with a wide range of arithmetic proficiency. Using factor analysis, we discovered that our data clustered to four latent variables 1) mathematics, 2) perception speed, 3) attention and 4) reading. In subsequent structural equation modeling, we found that the latent variable perception speed had a strong and meaningful effect on mathematics performance. Moreover, sustained attention, independent from the effect of the latent variable perception speed, had a meaningful, direct effect on arithmetic fact retrieval and procedural knowledge. The latent variable reading had a modest effect on mathematics performance. Specifically, reading comprehension, independent from the effect of the latent variable reading, had a meaningful direct effect on mathematics, and particularly on number line knowledge. Attention, tested by the attention network test, had no effect on mathematics, reading or perception speed. These results indicate that multiple factors can affect mathematics performance supporting a heterogeneous approach to mathematics. These results have meaningful implications for the diagnosis and intervention of pure and comorbid learning disorders.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sevtap Cinan ◽  
Aslı Doğan

This research is new in its attempt to take future time orientation, morningness orientation, and prospective memory as measures of mental prospection, and to examine a three-factor model that assumes working memory, mental prospection, and cognitive insight are independent but related higher-order cognitive constructs by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The three-factor model produced a good fit to the data. An alternative one-factor model was tested and rejected. The results suggest that working memory and cognitive insight are distinguishable, related constructs, and that both are distinct from, but negatively associated with, mental prospection. In addition, structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that working memory had a strong positive effect on cognitive insight and a moderate negative effect on mental prospection.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney R. Ringwald ◽  
Aidan G.C. Wright

Empathy theoretically serves an affiliative interpersonal function by satisfying motives for intimacy and union with others. Accordingly, empathy is expected to vary depending on the situation. Inconsistent empirical support for empathy’s affiliative role may be due to methodology focused on individual differences in empathy or differences between controlled experimental conditions, which fail to capture its dynamic and interpersonal nature. To address these shortcomings, we used ecological momentary assessment to establish typical patterns of empathy across everyday interactions. Associations among empathy, affect, and interpersonal behavior of self and interaction partner were examined in a student sample (N=330), then replicated in a pre-registered community sample (N=279). Multi-level structural equation modeling was used to distinguish individual differences in empathy from interaction-level effects. Results show people are more empathetic during positively-valanced interactions with others perceived as warm and when expressing warmth. By confirming the typically affiliative role of empathy, existing research to the contrary can be best understood as exceptions to the norm.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Che Wan Jasimah Bt Wan Mohamed Radzi ◽  
Hashem Salarzadeh Jenatabadi ◽  
Nadia Samsudin

Abstract Background Since the last decade, postpartum depression (PPD) has been recognized as a significant public health problem, and several factors have been linked to PPD. Mothers at risk are rarely undetected and underdiagnosed. Our study aims to determine the factors leading to symptoms of depression using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. In this research, we introduced a new framework for postpartum depression modeling for women. Methods We structured the model of this research to take into consideration the Malaysian culture in particular. A total of 387 postpartum women have completed the questionnaire. The symptoms of postpartum depression were examined using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and they act as a dependent variable in this research model. Results Four hundred fifty mothers were invited to participate in this research. 86% of the total distributed questionnaire received feedback. The majority of 79.6% of respondents were having depression symptoms. The highest coefficients of factor loading analysis obtained in every latent variable indicator were income (β = 0.77), screen time (β = 0.83), chips (β = 0.85), and anxiety (β = 0.88). Lifestyle, unhealthy food, and BMI variables were directly affected by the dependent variable. Based on the output, respondents with a high level of depression symptoms tended to consume more unhealthy food and had a high level of body mass indexes (BMI). The highest significant impact on depression level among postpartum women was unhealthy food consumption. Based on our model, the findings indicated that 76% of the variances stemmed from a variety of factors: socio-demographics, lifestyle, healthy food, unhealthy food, and BMI. The strength of the exogenous and endogenous variables in this research framework is strong. Conclusion The prevalence of postpartum women with depression symptoms in this study is considerably high. It is, therefore, imperative that postpartum women seek medical help to prevent postpartum depressive symptoms from worsening.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 1670
Author(s):  
Waheeb Abu-Ulbeh ◽  
Maryam Altalhi ◽  
Laith Abualigah ◽  
Abdulwahab Ali Almazroi ◽  
Putra Sumari ◽  
...  

Cyberstalking is a growing anti-social problem being transformed on a large scale and in various forms. Cyberstalking detection has become increasingly popular in recent years and has technically been investigated by many researchers. However, cyberstalking victimization, an essential part of cyberstalking, has empirically received less attention from the paper community. This paper attempts to address this gap and develop a model to understand and estimate the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization. The model of this paper is produced using routine activities and lifestyle exposure theories and includes eight hypotheses. The data of this paper is collected from the 757 respondents in Jordanian universities. This review paper utilizes a quantitative approach and uses structural equation modeling for data analysis. The results revealed a modest prevalence range is more dependent on the cyberstalking type. The results also indicated that proximity to motivated offenders, suitable targets, and digital guardians significantly influences cyberstalking victimization. The outcome from moderation hypothesis testing demonstrated that age and residence have a significant effect on cyberstalking victimization. The proposed model is an essential element for assessing cyberstalking victimization among societies, which provides a valuable understanding of the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization. This can assist the researchers and practitioners for future research in the context of cyberstalking victimization.


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