Individual differences in working memory capacity and search efficiency.
In two experiments, we examined how various learning conditions impact the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and memory search abilities. Experiment 1 employed a delayed free recall task with semantically related words to induce the buildup of proactive interference (PI) and revealed th...
| Published in: | Memory & Cognition Vol. 46; no. 7; pp. 1149 - 1164 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
Oct2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=132789524&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 132789524 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 0090502X MEG jtl: Memory & Cognition issn: 0090502X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Oct2018 vid: 46 iid: 7 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 132789524 10.3758/s13421-018-0827-3 ppf: 1149 ppct: 15 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.1MB tig: atl: Individual differences in working memory capacity and search efficiency. aug: au: Miller, Ashley L. Unsworth, Nash affil: Department of Psychology, 1227 University of Oregon, 97403, Eugene, OR, USA su: Learning Memory School environment Vocabulary Task performance Short-term memory Visual perception Phonological awareness Prompts (Psychology) sug: subj: Learning Memory School environment Vocabulary Task performance Short-term memory Visual perception Phonological awareness Prompts (Psychology) keyword: individual differences memory recall working memory individual differences memory recall working memory ab: In two experiments, we examined how various learning conditions impact the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and memory search abilities. Experiment 1 employed a delayed free recall task with semantically related words to induce the buildup of proactive interference (PI) and revealed that the buildup of PI differentially impacted recall accuracy and recall latency for low-WMC and high-WMC individuals. Namely, the buildup of PI impaired recall accuracy and slowed recall latency for low-WMC individuals to a greater extent than what was observed for high-WMC individuals. To provide a circumstance in which previously learned information remains relevant over the course of learning, Experiment 2 required participants to complete a multitrial delayed free recall task with unrelated words. Results revealed that with increased practice with the same word list, WMC-related differences were eventually eliminated in interresponse times (IRTs) and recall accuracy, but not recall latency. Thus, despite still accumulating larger search sets, low-WMC individuals searched LTM as efficiently as high-WMC individuals. Collectively, these results are consistent with the notion that under normal free recall conditions, low-WMC individuals search LTM less efficiently than do high-WMC individuals because of their reliance on noisy temporal-contextual cues at retrieval. However, it appears that under conditions in which previously learned items remain relevant at recall, this tendency to rely on vague self-generated retrieval cues can actually facilitate the ability to accurately and quickly recall information. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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