Working memory and handwriting and share a common resource: An investigation of shared attention

Abstract

Working memory and writing share a common resource. The authors investigated whether increasing the complexity of a finger-tapping task while simultaneously performing a serial verbal recall task while writing would decrease performance for recall, writing fluency, and tapping speed. Participants completed three verbal serial recall tasks which incrementally increased attentional load. Participants recalled word lists after listening to words while, (1) producing pseudo-handwriting movements without finger tapping (no-tapping), (2) producing pseudo-handwriting movements while tapping with a single finger (single-tapping), (3) producing pseudo-handwriting movements while tapping with two fingers (double tapping). The results showed that the double tapping condition caused a decrease in performance for recall, handwriting fluency, and tapping speed compared to the no-tapping condition and the single tapping conditions. However, no differences occurred between the no-tapping condition and the single tapping conditions. The authors concluded that by incrementally increasing the complexity of a concurrent tapping task we can achieve a decrease in performance across multiple cognitive processes. The results provided support for a central pool of shared resources that are utilised by non-working memory tasks and those reliant on working memory. The observed decreases in cognitive performance were dependent on task complexity rather than just performing a secondary task. The findings have implications for how multi-tasking while taking notes is detrimental for memory retention and handwriting fluency.