Individual Differences In Working Memory Research Articles

Comparing incidental learning of single words and collocations from different captioning conditions: The role of vocabulary knowledge and working memory

AbstractBackgroundVocabulary learning in a second language (L2) encompasses crucial aspects, including single words and collocations. Research indicates that L2 learners can incidentally learn single words from captioned videos, but less is known about the incidental learning outcomes of collocations, let alone the differences in learning gains for single words and collocations under different captioned conditions, as well as individual differences that may account for such differences.ObjectivesThis study aimed to fill this gap by comparing the learning gains of single words and collocations while investigating the influence of vocabulary knowledge (VK) and working memory (WM) on the learning results within diverse forms of captioning conditions: full captions, keyword captions, and no captions.MethodsThe study involved 129 young Chinese ESL learners who completed vocabulary tests assessing their meaning recall before, immediately after, and 2 weeks after the study, as well as tests for VK and WM.Results and ConclusionsThe results showed that full captions are the most efficacious condition for enhancing both single word and collocation learning. The depth of VK, as well as phonological and complex WM, were significant factors in the learning of new language items.TakeawaysDifferent types of captioning (full or keyword) contribute differently to the learning of various language items. Individual differences in WM and depth of VK among learners should be considered when utilizing captioned videos for language learning.

The influences of working memory updating on word association effects and thematic role assignment during sentence processing

The current study investigated how individual variability in working memory (WM) updating affects real-time processing of thematic role assignment and word association during sentence reading comprehension when ERPs were recorded. By adopting a factorial design, four types of sentences were formed by crossing word association and role assignment as independent variables. The results indicated that associated words evoked a smaller N400 effect but a larger P600 effect than unassociated words in the high WM group, whereas no word association effect was found in the low WM group. In contrast, role reversal elicited larger N400 effects for both groups. These results suggest that individual differences in WM updating influenced whether and how readers retrieved and integrated the associated word in whole sentences but did not influence the online assignment of thematic roles during sentence reading. Individuals with high WM updating, in contrast to those with low WM updating, were good at making use of word-associated information provided by the preceding context in current processing.

Relations between socioeconomic status, parental stress, parenting practices, and working memory in Hong Kong kindergarten children

ABSTRACT Working memory (WM) is highly predictive of academic performance, and individual differences in WM can already be observed in early childhood. However, obtaining accurate measures of WM in kindergarten-aged children is labour intensive. From an intervention perspective, identifying correlates of WM that are more readily measured can help identify children who require assistance more efficiently. This study examined the associations between socioeconomic status, parents related variables, and WM. The children (N = 258), recruited from Hong Kong kindergartens, were administered three WM tests. Their caregivers completed a questionnaire on socioeconomic status, financial worries, parental stress, psychological distress, parenting style, and the home learning environment. The results showed that socioeconomic differences were not associated with WM. However, children with parents who were more permissive had lower WM. It is suggested that the lack of parental demands that characterizes permissive parenting practices may reduce children’s engagement in activities that improve WM.

Individual differences in working memory and semantic fluency predict younger and older adults' multimodal recipient design in an interactive spatial task

Aging appears to impair the ability to adapt speech and gestures based on knowledge shared with an addressee (common ground-based recipient design) in narrative settings. Here, we test whether this extends to spatial settings and is modulated by cognitive abilities. Younger and older adults gave instructions on how to assemble 3D-models from building blocks on six consecutive trials. We induced mutually shared knowledge by either showing speaker and addressee the model beforehand, or not. Additionally, shared knowledge accumulated across the trials. Younger and crucially also older adults provided recipient-designed utterances, indicated by a significant reduction in the number of words and of gestures when common ground was present. Additionally, we observed a reduction in semantic content and a shift in cross-modal distribution of information across trials. Rather than age, individual differences in verbal and visual working memory and semantic fluency predicted the extent of addressee-based adaptations. Thus, in spatial tasks, individual cognitive abilities modulate the interactive language use of both younger and older adults.

Examining the source of island effects in native speakers and second language learners of English

We investigate sensitivity to island constraints in English native speakers and Najdi Arabic learners of English, examining (1) whether second language (L2) learners whose native language (L1) does not instantiate overt wh-movement are sensitive to island constraints and (2) the source of island effects. Under a grammatical account of islands, these effects arise due to violations of syntactic constraints. Under the resource-limitation account, island effects arise due to processing difficulty. The source of island effects is interesting to examine in L2 learners because it is possible that reduced processing abilities in the L2 may lead to the low acceptance of sentences with island violations simply due to the complexity of the sentences themselves as opposed to an adherence to grammatical constraints. To tease apart these accounts, we followed Sprouse et al. in focusing on individual differences in working memory (WM). We used an acceptability judgment task (AJT) to quantify island sensitivity and an automated operation span task to measure WM. Building on Sprouse et al., the AJT tested four island types, but we made several modifications to the task design to address concerns raised by Hofmeister et al.: the stimuli included a ‘context’ sentence to improve the naturalness of the complex wh-sentences. The stimuli also included complex wh-fillers (e.g. which worker) as opposed to bare fillers ( who), as semantically rich wh-phrases have been found to be easier to process. Our results showed that learners, like natives, exhibited island sensitivity, and there was no evidence that individual differences in WM modulated island sensitivity for either natives or learners. Our results are compatible with the grammatical view of island effects and suggest that wh-dependencies in both L1 and L2 grammars are similarly constrained by syntax.

The Role of Task-Essential Training and Working Memory in Offline and Online Morphological Processing

This study investigates the effects of task-essential training on offline and online processing of verbal morphology and explores how working memory (WM) modulates the effects of training. We compare a no-training control group to two training groups who completed a multisession task-essential training focused on Spanish verbal inflections related to person–number agreement and tense. Effects of training were evaluated using an offline aural interpretation task and an online self-paced reading (SPR) assessment, administered as a pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. Results showed that training led to more accurate interpretation of both person-number and tense information in the offline interpretation test. While higher WM was associated generally with greater accuracy, higher WM did not lead to greater gains from training. The SPR results showed that training did not increase sensitivity to subject–verb agreement or adverb–verb tense violations. However, among participants who underwent training, WM enhanced sensitivity under some conditions. These results demonstrate a role for individual differences in WM for offline and online processing, and they suggest that while task-essential training has been shown repeatedly to improve offline processing of target forms, its effects on online processing of redundant verbal morphology are more limited. Implications for L2 learning are discussed.

Community Violence Exposure and Youth Aggression: The Moderating Role of Working Memory.

Community violence exposure (CVE) is associated with aggression among youth, particularly those who reside in low-income, urban neighborhoods. However, not all youth who experience CVE exhibit aggression. Working memory (WM) difficulties may interfere with attributions or retrieval of nonaggressive responses, suggesting that individual differences in WM may contribute to proactive and/or reactive aggression among youth who experience CVE. Participants were 104 low-income, urban youth (M = 9.92 ± 1.22years old; 50.5% male; 95% African American). Youth reported on frequency of direct victimization and witnessing of violence in the community and completed two WM tasks. Teachers reported on youth proactive and reactive aggression. WM moderated the relation between direct victimization and proactive and reactive aggression, and between witnessing violence and reactive aggression. Among youth reporting less frequent victimization and witnessing, lower WM was associated with higher levels of proactive and reactive aggression. Among youth reporting more frequent direct victimization, lower WM was associated with higher levels of proactive aggression. Proactive and reactive aggression levels were similar among youth reporting more frequent witnessing regardless of WM levels. WM represents a potential target for early identification and intervention efforts to reduce reactive and proactive aggression among low-income, urban youth who are at elevated risk for CVE.

Individual differences in children’s comprehension of temporal relations: Dissociable contributions of working memory capacity and working memory updating

In two experiments, we examined 9- to 12-year-old children’s comprehension and processing of two-clause sentences with a temporal connective (before or after) in the sentence-medial or sentence-initial position. We obtained measures of individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and WM updating to test their contributions to comprehension. We measured the accuracy of children’s responses to the questions “What happened first?” (Experiment 1; N = 74) and “What happened last?” (Experiment 2; N = 50) as well as their sentence reading times. Together, these experiments show continued development of comprehension of temporal relations in children in upper elementary school and suggest that children’s comprehension difficulties (i.e., more comprehension errors and longer reading times) were influenced by clause salience and recency effects rather than sentence chronology or the familiarity of the connective. Our findings are consistent with a memory resource-limited account and suggest that individual differences in WM updating and WM capacity make dissociable contributions to processing and comprehension of sentences with temporal order information.

Individual differences in working memory capacity and filtering.

In three experiments we examined individual differences in working memory (WM) and their relationship with filtering-the selective encoding and maintenance of relevant information in the presence of irrelevant information. While some accounts argue that filtering is an important element of individual differences in WM (McNab & Klingberg, 2008; Robison & Unsworth, 2017b; Unsworth & Robison, 2016; Vogel, McCollough, & Machizawa, 2005), recent investigations have challenged this view (Mall, Morey, Wolff, & Lehnert, 2014; Shipstead, Lindsey, Marshall, & Engle, 2014). In all three experiments, we measured WM span with three complex span tasks and then had participants complete a visual WM task with a filtering component. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to remember the orientation of relevant items (red rectangles) and ignore irrelevant items (blue rectangles). In Experiment 2, the color of relevant items changed randomly on a trial-by-trial basis. In Experiment 3, we presented a constant number of items. On half of the trials, participants were told which color item would be tested before each trial. On the other half of the trials, participants received no such cue. In situations where filtering was especially required, WM span accounted for a significant portion of variance in filtering trials beyond shared variance between filtering and nonfiltering trials. We argue that filtering is one of several control processes that gives rise to individual differences in WM, but that the relationship is constrained by the degree to which filtering is demanded by the task. (PsycINFO Database Record

Working memory predicts changes in children’s theory of mind during middle childhood: A training study

The present study examined the role of working memory (WM) in theory of mind (ToM) changes that occur in middle childhood using a training design. The main aim was to investigate whether the extent to which children benefited from ToM training was predicted by their WM. Eighty-six children (M age = 9.67 years; SD = 7.38 months) were assigned to either a ToM (N = 46) or a control condition (N = 40). The groups were equivalent at pre-test for age, family, socioeconomic background, vocabulary, reading comprehension, WM, and ToM. Findings indicated that: i) the training promotes ToM, and ii) individual differences in WM moderated improvement in children’s ToM. These results are consistent with the emergence account, according to which WM helps the development of ToM skills.

The limits of visual working memory in children: Exploring prioritization and recency effects with sequential presentation.

Recent research has demonstrated that, when instructed to prioritize a serial position in visual working memory (WM), adults are able to boost performance for this selected item, at a cost to nonprioritized items (e.g., Hu, Hitch, Baddeley, Zhang, & Allen, 2014). While executive control appears to play an important role in this ability, the increased likelihood of recalling the most recently presented item (i.e., the recency effect) is relatively automatic, possibly driven by perceptual mechanisms. In 3 Experiments 7 to 10 year-old's ability to prioritize items in WM was investigated using a sequential visual task (total N = 208). The relationship between individual differences in WM and performance on the experimental task was also explored. Participants were unable to prioritize the first (Experiments 1 and 2) or final (Experiment 3) item in a 3-item sequence, while large recency effects for the final item were consistently observed across all experiments. The absence of a priority boost across 3 experiments indicates that children may not have the necessary executive resources to prioritize an item within a visual sequence, when directed to do so. In contrast, the consistent recency boosts for the final item indicate that children show automatic memory benefits for the most recently encountered stimulus. Finally, for the baseline condition in which children were instructed to remember all 3 items equally, additional WM measures predicted performance at the first and second but not the third serial position, further supporting the proposed automaticity of the recency effect in visual WM. (PsycINFO Database Record

Individual variation in working memory is associated with fear extinction performance

PTSD has been associated consistently with abnormalities in fear acquisition and extinction learning and retention. Fear acquisition refers to learning to discriminate between threat and safety cues. Extinction learning reflects the formation of a new inhibitory-memory that competes with a previously learned threat-related memory. Adjudicating the competition between threat memory and the new inhibitory memory during extinction may rely, in part, on cognitive processes such as working memory (WM). Despite significant shared neural circuits and signaling pathways the relationship between WM, fear acquisition, and extinction is poorly understood. Here, we analyzed data from a large sample of healthy Marines who underwent an assessment battery including tests of fear acquisition, extinction learning, and WM (N-back). Fear potentiated startle (FPS), fear expectancy ratings, and self-reported anxiety served as the primary dependent variables. High WM ability (N = 192) was associated with greater CS + fear inhibition during the late block of extinction and greater US expectancy change during extinction learning compared to individuals with low WM ability (N = 204). WM ability was not associated with magnitude of fear conditioning/expression. Attention ability was unrelated to fear acquisition or extinction supporting specificity of WM associations with extinction. These results support the conclusion that individual differences in WM may contribute to regulating fear responses.

Categorization Working Memory Span Task: Validation study of two Brazilian alternate versions.

The Categorization Working Memory Span Task (CWMS task) is a complex working memory (WM) span test that has been used previously to assess age and individual differences in WM as well as the relationship between WM and complex aspects of cognition such as listening comprehension. Two alternate versions of the task have been developed to be used as outcome variables in WM training protocol, which mirrors the task involved in the CWMS task. (1) To translate and adapt the CWMS task for Brazilian Portuguese; (2) to test the equivalence of its 2 alternate versions; (3) to examine temporal stability; (4) to examine the influence of age and schooling on CWMS task; (5) to establish its relationship with other tests of WM. Eighty-one older adults completed version A, and 86 completed version B of the CWMS task. After 6months, a subsample (n=85) completed the same version of the task. Versions A and B of the task generated comparable scores. Both versions had adequate temporal stability, which was higher for the CWMS total recall, which is the classical variable in this task to represent WM performance, when compared to the other variables generated by the test. The CWMS task variables were moderately correlated with schooling and other cognitive tests (Mini Mental State Examination, Letter-Number Sequencing, Spatial Span Backward, Digit Span Forward). The 2 versions of the CWMS task were equivalent and stable temporally. The task was influenced by schooling and global cognition.

Variation in the use of cues to guide visual working memory.

Across two experiments we examined individual differences in the use of precues and retrocues to guide the selective encoding and maintenance of information in visual working memory (WM). In Experiment 1, we used spatial cues to indicate which item would be tested either before or after the presentation of a memory array. Regression analyses allowed us to separate variance due to visual WM capacity and attention control differences. In Experiment 2, we used categorical cues to indicate from which subset of items the tested item would be drawn, and we measured attention control with two independent tasks. Collectively, the results supported the idea that an element of individual differences in WM is the ability to flexibly allocate attention to encode only relevant information and subsequently select relevant information during maintenance stages.

A Sequential Sentence Paradigm Using Revised PRESTO Sentence Lists.

Listening in challenging situations requires explicit cognitive resources to decode and process speech. Traditional speech recognition tests are limited in documenting this cognitive effort, which may differ greatly between individuals or listening conditions despite similar scores. A sequential sentence paradigm was designed to be more sensitive to individual differences in demands on verbal processing during speech recognition. The purpose of this study was to establish the feasibility, validity, and equivalency of test materials in the sequential sentence paradigm as well as to evaluate the effects of masker type, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and working memory (WM) capacity on performance in the task. Listeners heard a pair of sentences and repeated aloud the second sentence (immediate recall) and then wrote down the first sentence (delayed recall). Sentence lists were from the Perceptually Robust English Sentence Test Open-set (PRESTO) test. In experiment I, listeners completed a traditional speech recognition task. In experiment II, listeners completed the sequential sentence task at one SNR. In experiment III, the masker type (steady noise versus multitalker babble) and SNR were varied to demonstrate the effects of WM as the speech material increased in difficulty. Young, normal-hearing adults (total n = 53) from the Purdue University community completed one of the three experiments. Keyword scoring of the PRESTO lists was completed for both the immediate- and delayed-recall sentences. The Verbal Letter Monitoring task, a test of WM, was used to separate listeners into a low-WM or high-WM group. Experiment I indicated that mean recognition on the single-sentence task was highly variable between the original PRESTO lists. Modest rearrangement of the sentences yielded 18 statistically equivalent lists (mean recognition = 65.0%, range = 64.4-65.7%), which were used in the sequential sentence task in experiment II. In the new test paradigm, recognition of the immediate-recall sentences was not statistically different from the single-sentence task, indicating that there were no cognitive load effects from the delayed-recall sentences. Finally, experiment III indicated that multitalker babble was equally detrimental compared to steady-state noise for immediate recall of sentences for both low- and high-WM groups. On the other hand, delayed recall of sentences in multitalker babble was disproportionately more difficult for the low-WM group compared with the high-WM group. The sequential sentence paradigm is a feasible test format with mostly equivalent lists. Future studies using this paradigm may need to consider individual differences in WM to see the full range of effects across different conditions. Possible applications include testing the efficacy of various signal-processing techniques in clinical populations.

Untangling the Contribution of the Subcomponents of Working Memory to Mathematical Proficiency as Measured by the National Tests: A Study among Swedish Third Graders.

The aim with the present study was to examine the relationship between the subcomponents in working memory (WM) and mathematical performance, as measured by the National tests in a sample of 597 Swedish third-grade pupils. In line with compelling evidence of other studies, individual differences in WM capacity significantly predicted mathematical performance. Dividing the sample into four groups, based on their mathematical performance, revealed that mathematical ability can be conceptualized in terms of different WM profiles. Pupils categorized as High-math performers particularly differed from the other three groups in having a significant higher phonological ability. In contrast, pupils categorized as Low-math performers were particularly characterized by having a significant lower visuo-spatial ability. Findings suggest that it is important for educators to recognize and acknowledge individual differences in WM to support mathematical achievement at an individual level.

The role of working memory in rapid instructed task learning and intention-based reflexivity: An individual differences examination

The ability to efficiently follow novel task instructions (Rapid Instructed Task Learning, RITL) appears late in evolution, is required for successful collaborative teamwork, and appears to involve maintaining instructions in working-memory (WM). RITL is indexed by the efficiency in which the instructions are performed (RITL success) and by whether the instructions operate automatically (intention-based reflexivity). Based on prior normative work employing WM-load manipulations, we predicted that individual differences in WM would positively correlate with these RITL indices. Participants (N=175) performed the NEXT paradigm, which is used to assess RITL, and tests of choice reaction time, intelligence, and WM. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that, contrary to our predictions, successful performance in WM tasks did not predict RITL performance. Tests tapping general-fluid intelligence and reaction time positively correlated with RITL success. However, contrary to our predictions, RITL success positively correlated with little intention-based reflexivity. We suggest that for a RITL paradigm to produce intention-based reflexivity, its WM demand must be low, and, thus, performance does not reflect individual differences in WM.

The "good cop, bad cop" effect in the RT-based concealed information test: exploring the effect of emotional expressions displayed by a virtual investigator.

Concealing the possession of relevant information represents a complex cognitive process, shaped by contextual demands and individual differences in cognitive and socio-emotional functioning. The Reaction Time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) is used to detect concealed knowledge based on the difference in RTs between denying recognition of critical (probes) and newly encountered (irrelevant) information. Several research questions were addressed in this scenario implemented after a mock crime. First, we were interested whether the introduction of a social stimulus (facial identity) simulating a virtual investigator would facilitate the process of deception detection. Next, we explored whether his emotional displays (friendly, hostile or neutral) would have a differential impact on speed of responses to probe versus irrelevant items. We also compared the impact of introducing similar stimuli in a working memory (WM) updating context without requirements to conceal information. Finally, we explored the association between deceptive behavior and individual differences in WM updating proficiency or in internalizing problems (state / trait anxiety and depression). Results indicated that the mere presence of a neutral virtual investigator slowed down participants' responses, but not the appended lie-specific time (difference between probes and irrelevants). Emotional expression was shown to differentially affect speed of responses to critical items, with positive displays from the virtual examiner enhancing lie-specific time, compared to negative facial expressions, which had an opposite impact. This valence-specific effect was not visible in the WM updating context. Higher levels of trait / state anxiety were related to faster responses to probes in the negative condition (hostile facial expression) of the RT-CIT. These preliminary findings further emphasize the need to take into account motivational and emotional factors when considering the transfer of deception detection techniques from the laboratory to real-life settings.

Individual differences in the allocation of attention to items in working memory: Evidence from pupillometry.

We utilized pupillary responses as an online measure of attentional allocation and fluctuations in attention in order to better examine both how attention is allocated to items in working memory (WM) and individual differences therein. We found that the pupillary response during a delay was modulated by the number of items to be held in memory, reaching asymptote close to capacity limits. Furthermore, we found that during the delay, how individuals allocated attention to items in WM depended on the number of items to be held, as well as on an individual's capacity. Finally, we found that pretrial pupil diameter distinguished correct and error responses and that individuals with more variability in pretrial pupil diameter had lower behavioral capacity estimates. These results suggest that individual differences in WM are due both to differences in the amount of attention that can be allocated to maintain items in WM and to differences in fluctuations in attention control across trials.

Working memory and fluid intelligence: Capacity, attention control, and secondary memory retrieval

Several theories have been put forth to explain the relation between working memory (WM) and gF. Unfortunately, no single factor has been shown to fully account for the relation between these two important constructs. In the current study we tested whether multiple factors (capacity, attention control, and secondary memory) would collectively account for the relation. A large number of participants performed multiple measures of each construct and latent variable analyses were used to examine the data. The results demonstrated that capacity, attention control, and secondary memory were uniquely related to WM storage, WM processing, and gF. Importantly, the three factors completely accounted for the relation between WM (both processing and storage) and gF. Thus, although storage and processing make independent contributions to gF, both of these contributions are accounted for by variation in capacity, attention control and secondary memory. These results are consistent with the multifaceted view of WM, suggesting that individual differences in capacity, attention control, and secondary memory jointly account for individual differences in WM and its relation with gF.