Hierarchical Multinomial Modeling Approaches: An Application to Prospective Memory and Working Memory.

Abstract

Hierarchical extensions of multinomial processing tree (MPT) models have been developed to deal with heterogeneity in participants or items. In this study, the beta-MPT model ( J. B. Smith & Batchelder, 2010 ) and the latent-trait approach ( Klauer, 2010 ) were used to estimate individual model parameters for prospective and retrospective components of prospective memory (PM), which requires remembering to perform an action in the future. The data from two experiments investigating the relationship between PM and working memory ( R. E. Smith & Bayen, 2005 , Experiment 1; R. E. Smith, Persyn, & Butler, 2011 ) were reanalyzed using the two hierarchical modeling approaches, both of which provide parameter estimates for individual participants. The results showed a positive correlation of the prospective component of PM with working-memory span and provide the first direct comparisons of the two hierarchical extensions of an MPT model.