Why Is Working Memory Performance Unstable? A Review of 21 Factors.

Rachael N Blasiman,Christopher A Was

doi:10.5964/ejop.v14i1.1472

Abstract

In this paper, we systematically reviewed twenty-one factors that have been shown to either vary with or influence performance on working memory (WM) tasks. Specifically, we review previous work on the influence of intelligence, gender, age, personality, mental illnesses/medical conditions, dieting, craving, stress/anxiety, emotion/motivation, stereotype threat, temperature, mindfulness training, practice, bilingualism, musical training, altitude/hypoxia, sleep, exercise, diet, psychoactive substances, and brain stimulation on WM performance. In addition to a review of the literature, we suggest several frameworks for classifying these factors, identify shared mechanisms between several variables, and suggest areas requiring further investigation. This review critically examines the breadth of research investigating WM while synthesizing the results across related subfields in psychology.

Highlights

We conducted an exhaustive search of the literature to identify articles that met the broad requirements of this review; namely, we review articles that included any Blasiman & Was factor that can alter working memory (WM) performance
Some researchers suggest that the negative effect of stereotype threat on WM performance can be increased by activating multiple stigmatized aspects of group membership (Forbes & Schmader, 2010)
Some researchers report gains in WM performance in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Klingberg et al, 2005) and in adult neuropsychological patients following strokes (Westerberg & Klingberg, 2007), indicating that some populations gain more from WM practice than others and that WM practice may be a viable tool to improve cognitive function in people with WM impairment

Summary

Introduction

Another interesting factor that has been associated with impaired WM performance is dieting; a deficit that seems obvious in high load verbal tasks (Kemps, Tiggemann, & Marshall, 2005). A study by Shaw and Tiggemann (2004) compared past dieters, dieters, and non-dieters on phonological loop performance by examining the phonological similarity effect and articulatory control.

Results

Conclusion