Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user's guide

被引:1899
作者
Conway, ARA [1 ]
Kane, MJ
Bunting, MF
Hambrick, DZ
Wilhelm, O
Engle, RW
机构
[1] Univ Illinois, Chicago, IL 60680 USA
[2] Univ N Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27412 USA
[3] Michigan State Univ, E Lansing, MI 48824 USA
[4] Humboldt Univ, D-1086 Berlin, Germany
[5] Georgia Inst Technol, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
关键词
D O I
10.3758/BF03196772
中图分类号
B841 [心理学研究方法];
学科分类号
040201 ;
摘要
Working memory (WM) span tasks-and in particular, counting span, operation span, and reading span tasks-are widely used measures of WM capacity. Despite their popularity, however, there has never been a comprehensive analysis of the merits of WM span tasks as measurement tools. Here, we review the genesis of these tasks and discuss how and why they came to be so influential. In so doing, we address the reliability and validity of the tasks, and we consider more technical aspects of the tasks, such as optimal administration and scoring procedures. Finally, we discuss statistical and methodological techniques that have commonly been used in conjunction with WM span tasks, such as latent variable analysis and extreme-groups designs.
引用
收藏
页码:769 / 786
页数:18
相关论文
共 96 条
[21]   A latent variable analysis of working memory capacity, short-term memory capacity, processing speed, and general fluid intelligence [J].
Conway, ARA ;
Cowan, N ;
Bunting, MF ;
Therriault, DJ ;
Minkoff, SRB .
INTELLIGENCE, 2002, 30 (02) :163-183
[22]   WORKING-MEMORY AND RETRIEVAL - A RESOURCE-DEPENDENT INHIBITION MODEL [J].
CONWAY, ARA ;
ENGLE, RW .
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-GENERAL, 1994, 123 (04) :354-373
[23]   Phonological similarity in working memory [J].
Copeland, DE ;
Radvansky, GA .
MEMORY & COGNITION, 2001, 29 (05) :774-776
[24]   Children's working-memory processes: A response-timing analysis [J].
Cowan, N ;
Towse, JN ;
Hamilton, Z ;
Saults, JS ;
Elliott, EM ;
Lacey, JF ;
Moreno, MV ;
Hitch, GJ .
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-GENERAL, 2003, 132 (01) :113-132
[25]  
Cowan N., 1995, ATTENTION MEMORY INT, DOI DOI 10.1093/ACPROF:OSO/9780195119107.001.0001
[26]  
Craik F.I. M., 1986, HUMAN MEMORY COGNITI, P409
[27]   INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN COMPREHENDING AND PRODUCING WORDS IN CONTEXT [J].
DANEMAN, M ;
GREEN, I .
JOURNAL OF MEMORY AND LANGUAGE, 1986, 25 (01) :1-18
[28]   Working memory and language comprehension: A meta-analysis [J].
Daneman, M ;
Merikle, PM .
PSYCHONOMIC BULLETIN & REVIEW, 1996, 3 (04) :422-433
[29]   INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN WORKING MEMORY AND READING [J].
DANEMAN, M ;
CARPENTER, PA .
JOURNAL OF VERBAL LEARNING AND VERBAL BEHAVIOR, 1980, 19 (04) :450-466
[30]   INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN INTEGRATING INFORMATION BETWEEN AND WITHIN SENTENCES [J].
DANEMAN, M ;
CARPENTER, PA .
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-LEARNING MEMORY AND COGNITION, 1983, 9 (04) :561-584