scholarly journals Processing Speed, Working Memory, and Executive Functions: Independent or inter-related predictors of general intelligence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gidon T. Frischkorn ◽  
Anna-Lena Schubert ◽  
Dirk Hagemann
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Executive Processing ◽  
Processing Demands

Both working memory capacity (WMC) and processing speed (PS) have been discussed as important covariates of individual differences in intelligence. Recent results indicated that especially latencies of ERP components associated with higher-order processing (P2, N2, and P3) may share up to 80% of variance with individual differences in intelligence. WMC has a similar predictive power and thus these two processes cannot explain individual differences in intelligence independently. The current study explores in how far individual differences in executive functions (EFs) may bridge the gap between WMC and PS as predictors of intelligence. We recruited 101 participants who completed three EF tasks – one for each of the three executive functions shifting, updating, and inhibition. Additionally, we assessed participants’ intelligence, WMC, and PS. Results showed that only variance of behavioral RTs consistent across manipulations in the EF tasks was related to WMC, PS, and intelligence. The variance specific to the manipulations in EF tasks was small and showed no consistent correlations with each other or with any of the three covariates. These results suggest that EF tasks capture mostly manipulation-unspecific cognitive processes. Hence, individual differences in the impairment due to additional executive processing demands cannot explain why WMC and PS are related predictors of individual differences in intelligence.

scholarly journals Cognitive Models in Intelligence Research: Advantages and Recommendations for Their Application

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gidon Frischkorn ◽  
Anna-Lena Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Modeling ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Cognitive Models ◽  
Model Fit ◽  
General Intelligence

Mathematical models of cognition measure individual differences in cognitive processes, such as processing speed, working memory capacity, and executive functions, that may underlie general intelligence. As such, cognitive models allow identifying associations between specific cognitive processes and tracking the effect of experimental interventions aimed at the enhancement of intelligence on mediating process parameters. Moreover, cognitive models provide an explicit theoretical formalization of theories regarding specific cognitive processes that may help in overcoming ambiguities in the interpretation of fuzzy verbal theories. In this paper, we give an overview of the advantages of cognitive modeling in intelligence research and present models in the domains of processing speed, working memory, and selective attention that may be of particular interest for intelligence research. Moreover, we provide guidelines for the application of cognitive models in intelligence research, including data collection, the evaluation of model fit, and statistical analyses.

scholarly journals Mathematics Skills and Executive Functions Following Preterm Birth: A Longitudinal Study of 5-to 7- Year Old Children

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Anna Adrian ◽  
Frank Haist ◽  
Natacha Akshoomoff
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Full Term ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Mathematics Skills ◽  
Increased Risk

Early mathematics skills are an important predictor of later academic, economic and personal success. Children born preterm, about 10% of the US population, have an increased risk of deficits in mathematics. These deficits may be related to lower levels of executive functions and processing speed. We investigated the development of mathematics skills, working memory, inhibitory control and processing speed of healthy children born very preterm (between 25 and 32 weeks gestational age, n=51) and full-term (n=29). Children were tested annually from ages 5 to 7 years. We found persistent lower overall mathematics skills in the preterm group, driven by differences in more informal skills (e.g. counting) at earlier time points, and by differences in more formal skills (e.g. calculation) at later time points. We did not find significant differences between preterm and full-term born children in spatial working memory capacity or processing speed. However, these cognitive measures were significant predictors of mathematics skills in the preterm but not the full-term group, hinting towards the use of different strategies when solving problems.

scholarly journals Cognitive Modeling in Intelligence Research: Advantages and Recommendations for their Application

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gidon T. Frischkorn ◽  
Anna-Lena Schubert
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Modeling ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Cognitive Models ◽  
Model Fit ◽  
General Intelligence

Mathematical models of cognition measure individual differences in cognitive processes, such as processing speed, working memory capacity, and executive functions, that may underlie general intelligence. As such, cognitive models allow identifying associations between specific cognitive processes and tracking the effect of experimental interventions aimed at the enhancement of intelligence on mediating process parameters. Moreover, cognitive models provide an explicit theoretical formalization of theories regarding specific cognitive process that may help overcoming ambiguities in the interpretation of fuzzy verbal theories. In this paper, we give an overview of the advantages of cognitive modeling in intelligence research and present models in the domains of processing speed, working memory, and selective attention that may be of particular interest for intelligence research. Moreover, we provide guidelines for the application of cognitive models in intelligence research, including data collection, the evaluation of model fit, and statistical analyses.

Dual Processing in Reasoning

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 428-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim De Neys
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Dual Processing ◽  
Human Reasoning ◽  
Reasoning Task ◽  
Reasoning System ◽  
Processing Demands ◽  
Correct Reasoning

Human reasoning has been characterized as an interplay between an automatic belief-based system and a demanding logic-based reasoning system. The present study tested a fundamental claim about the nature of individual differences in reasoning and the processing demands of both systems. Participants varying in working memory capacity performed a reasoning task while their executive resources were burdened with a secondary task. Results were consistent with the dual-process claim: The executive burden hampered correct reasoning when the believability of a conclusion conflicted with its logical validity, but not when beliefs cued the correct response. However, although participants with high working memory spans performed better than those with lower spans in cases of a conflict, all reasoners showed similar effects of load. The findings support the idea that there are two reasoning systems with differential processing demands, but constitute evidence against qualitative individual differences in the human reasoning machinery.

scholarly journals Neurocognitive Psychometrics of Intelligence: How Measurement Advancements Unveiled the Role of Mental Speed in Intelligence Differences

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Lena Schubert ◽  
Gidon T. Frischkorn
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
The Relationship

More intelligent individuals typically show faster reaction times. However, individual differences in reaction times do not represent individual differences in a single cognitive process but in multiple cognitive processes. Thus, it is unclear whether the association between mental speed and intelligence reflects advantages in a specific cognitive process or in general processing speed. In this article, we present a neurocognitive-psychometrics account of mental speed that decomposes the relationship between mental speed and intelligence. We summarize research employing mathematical models of cognition and chronometric analyses of neural processing to identify distinct stages of information processing strongly related to intelligence differences. Evidence from both approaches suggests that the speed of higher-order processing is greater in smarter individuals, which may reflect advantages in the structural and functional organization of brain networks. Adopting a similar neurocognitive-psychometrics approach for other cognitive processes associated with intelligence (e.g., working memory or executive control) may refine our understanding of the basic cognitive processes of intelligence.

Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity in Recency Effects: From the Recall Process

2009 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 545-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Recall Accuracy ◽  
Recency Effects ◽  
Span Test ◽  
Backward Recall

The purpose was to investigate the role of individual differences in working memory capacity in recency effects on free, forward, and backward recall tasks. In Exp. 1, correlations between scores on a listening-span test and recall accuracy of recent items were positive and significant under all conditions. This result suggested participants with large working memory capacity are likely to show a stronger recency effect. Predictive power of the listening-span test was still significant after the word-span score was partialled out. In Exp. 2, the predictive power of the listening-span test scores was not significant when a delay was introduced between study and recall phases. Analysis suggested participants with a larger working memory capacity, and particularly with higher cognitive function, were sensitive to the recollection process.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Eye-Movements During Reading: Working Memory and Speed-of-Processing Effects

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Traxler ◽  
Clinton L. Johns ◽  
Debra L. Long ◽  
Megan Zirnstein ◽  
Kristen M. Tooley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Linear Modeling

Mathematical models of eye-movement control do not yet incorporate individual differences as a source of variation in reading. These models nonetheless provide an excellent foundation for describing and explaining how and why patterns of eye-movements differ across readers (e.g., Rayner et al., 2006). We focus in this article on two aspects of individual variation: global processing speed (e.g., Salthouse, 1996) and working-memory capacity (e.g., Just & Carpenter, 1992). Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2001), we tested the extent to which overall reading speed and working-memory capacity moderate the degree to which syntactic and semantic information affect fixation times. We found that working-memory capacity interacted with sentence-characteristic variables only when processing speed was not included in the model.

scholarly journals The role of working memory capacity in evaluative judgments of liking and beauty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajia Che ◽  
Xiaolei Sun ◽  
Martin Skov ◽  
Oshin Vartanian ◽  
Jaume Rossello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Visual Art ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Evaluative Judgments ◽  
Memory Resources

Judgments of liking and beauty appear to be expressions of a common hedonic state, but they differ in how they engage cognitive processes. We hypothesized that beauty judgments place greater demands on limited executive resources than judgments of liking. We tested this hypothesis by asking two groups of participants to judge works of visual art for their beauty or liking while having to remember the location of 1, 3, or 5 dots in a 4 by 4 matrix. We also examined the effect of individual differences in working memory capacity. Our results show that holding information about the location of the dots in working memory delayed judgments of beauty but not of liking. Also, the greater participants’ working memory capacity, the faster they completed the working memory task when judging liking, but not when judging beauty. Our study provides evidence that judging beauty draws more on working memory resources than judging liking.

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.

Time-Based Measures of Monitoring in Association With Executive Functions in Kindergarten Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 228 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Kälin ◽  
Claudia M. Roebers
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Metacognitive Monitoring

Abstract. Repeatedly, the notion has been put forward that metacognition (MC) and executive functions (EF) share common grounds, as both describe higher order cognitive processes and involve monitoring. However, only few studies addressed this issue empirically and so far their findings are rather inconsistent. Addressing the question whether measurement differences may in part be responsible for the mixed results, the current study included explicitly reported as well as time-based measures of metacognitive monitoring and related them to EF. A total of 202 children aged 4–6 years were assessed in terms of EF (inhibition, working memory, shifting) and monitoring. While there was no significant link between explicitly reported confidence and EF, latencies of monitoring judgments were significantly related to time- and accuracy-based measures of EF. Our findings support the association between EF and MC and the assumption that better inhibition abilities help children to engage in more thorough monitoring.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document