THE CORRELATION BETWEEN IRAQI EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY AND THEIR LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

In this study, the hypothesis that working memory capacity interacts with (foreign) language proficiency was tested on multilinguals, who were native (L1) Dutch speakers, were fluent in their second (L2) language, German, and had recently started the acquisition of their third (L3) language, Norwegian. So far, the results of second-language studies on simple and complex working-memory tasks are mixed. In previous second-language studies, however, languages that belong to different linguistic groups were used. The question arises whether the interaction between working memory capacity and language proficiency is language-specific. In our multilingualism study we, therefore, controlled for this. Both simple (digit-span) and complex working-memory tasks (reading-span task and letter-number ordering) were used. The general results show that differences in performance between L1, L2, and L3 can be found on both simple and complex working-memory tasks, supporting the working memory capacity interaction hypothesis.

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Differential Effects of Executive Processes on Working Memory

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000211 ◽

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.

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Working Memory Capacity and a Notorious Brain Teaser

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.53.1.123 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 123-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

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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