Working Memory Distractor Research Articles

Restricted Access to Working Memory Does Not Prevent Cumulative Score Improvement in a Cultural Evolution Task.

Some theories propose that human cumulative culture is dependent on explicit, system-2, metacognitive processes. To test this, we investigated whether access to working memory is required for cumulative cultural evolution. We restricted access to adults’ working-memory (WM) via a dual-task paradigm, to assess whether this reduced performance in a cultural evolution task, and a metacognitive monitoring task. In total, 247 participants completed either a grid search task or a metacognitive monitoring task in conjunction with a WM task and a matched control. Participants’ behaviour in the grid search task was then used to simulate the outcome of iterating the task over multiple generations. Participants in the grid search task scored higher after observing higher-scoring examples, but could only beat the scores of low-scoring example trials. Scores did not differ significantly between the control and WM distractor blocks, although more errors were made when under WM load. The simulation showed similar levels of cumulative score improvement across conditions. However, scores plateaued without reaching the maximum. Metacognitive efficiency was low in both blocks, with no indication of dual-task interference. Overall, we found that taxing working-memory resources did not prevent cumulative score improvement on this task, but impeded it slightly relative to a control distractor task. However, we found no evidence that the dual-task manipulation impacted participants’ ability to use explicit metacognition. Although we found minimal evidence in support of the explicit metacognition theory of cumulative culture, our results provide valuable insights into empirical approaches that could be used to further test predictions arising from this account.

Interaction between working memory load and the ability to resist interference from negative distractors in dysphoria.

Although the relationship between emotional working memory (WM) and depressive symptoms has been well established in clinical samples, research in the subclinical population has produced mixed results. The present study tested the effect of WM load on control of interference from emotional (positive, negative, neutral) distractors in dysphoria. Dysphoric (n=32) and non-dysphoric (n=35) university students were administered the emotional 2-back (lower WM load) and 3-back (higher WM load) tasks. Results showed that resisting negative distractors was more difficult for the dysphoric group than the non-dysphoric group, but only in the 3-back task. The results demonstrate that dysphoria is associated with greater interference from negative distractors under high WM load. We conclude that both WM load and emotional valence have an effect on WM performance in dysphoria, and the poor ability to resist interference from negative distractors in WM might be a key cognitive vulnerability factor for depression.

A Semi-Naturalistic Grocery List Recall Task as a Working Memory Distractor

The present study evaluates the usefulness of a semi-naturalistic task as a working memory distractor. Previous studies not finding a relationship between working memory and distraction may not have used a distractor which loaded onto working memory. To address these limitations, we created a semi-naturalistic distractor meeting Kane et al.’s (2007) domain-general criteria of working memory where the primary task tapped into executive attention and the secondary task tapped into memory storage. Finally, participants completed two driving scenarios: one while engaging in the distractor task, and one while not engaging in any distraction, to evaluate the distractor’s effects on driving performance. Theoretical and practical implications on driver safety are discussed.

Predicting distracted driving: The role of individual differences in working memory

The present study investigated the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in predicting distracted driving performance using a working memory distractor. Forty-nine participants (including one with missing data) completed four working memory complex spans prior to completing a distracted and non-distracted simulated driving trial. During the distracted driving trial, participants drove while simultaneously completing the grocery list task (GLT), a semi-naturalistic working memory task developed by the authors. Results showed that participants were significantly slower at braking when a yellow traffic light appeared and during sudden braking events when distracted. Furthermore, the impairing effect of distraction on braking response time was partially mediated by WMC. There was also a trend towards a moderating effect of WMC, where the impairing effect of distraction was more pronounced for individuals with low WMC than high WMC. Theoretical and practical implications for the role of individual differences in cognition and driving, in-vehicle devices use and traffic safety, as well as semi-autonomous vehicle design are also discussed.