What develops in working memory? A life span perspective.

This study investigated whether working-memory (WM) span differences across age are attributable to specific or general processing functions. The study compared 9 age groups (6, 8, 10, 13, 16, 24, 35, 45, 57 years) on verbal and visuospatial WM performance under initial (no probes or cues), gain (cues that bring performance to an asymptotic level), and maintenance conditions (asymptotic conditions without cues). (a) Age-related performance differences in WM were found across all conditions and were not isolated to specific processes, (b) significant performance differences remained among age groups on gain and maintenance conditions, and (c) the gain (accessing new information) and maintenance conditions (maintenance of old information) for verbal and visuospatial WM tasks contributed independent variance to age-related performance. The results support a general capacity explanation of age-related differences. These differences in capacity reflect demands placed on both the accessing of new information and the maintenance of old information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choke or thrive? The relation between salivary cortisol and math performance depends on individual differences in working memory and math-anxiety.

In the current study, we explored how a person's physiological arousal relates to their performance in a challenging math situation as a function of individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and math-anxiety. Participants completed demanding math problems before and after which salivary cortisol, an index of arousal, was measured. The performance of lower WM individuals did not depend on cortisol concentration or math-anxiety. For higher WM individuals high in math-anxiety, the higher their concentration of salivary cortisol following the math task, the worse their performance. In contrast, for higher WM individuals lower in math-anxiety, the higher their salivary cortisol concentrations, the better their performance. For individuals who have the capacity to perform at a high-level (higher WMs), whether physiological arousal will lead an individual to choke or thrive depends on math-anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cortical networks implicated in semantic and episodic memory: common or unique?

While previous functional neuroimaging studies have shown that semantic and episodic memory tasks activate different cortical regions, they never compared regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns associated with semantic and episodic memory within the same experimental design. In this study, we used H2(15)O PET to study subjects in the course of semantic and episodic memory tasks. rCBF was measured in 9 normal volunteers during a resting baseline condition and two cognitive tasks. In the semantic categorisation task subjects heard a list of concrete words and had to respond to words belonging to the "animals" or "food" category. In the episodic recognition task subjects heard a list of concrete words, half "old", i.e. belonging to the list of the semantic categorisation task, and half "new", i.e. presented for the first time. Subjects had to respond to the "old" words. Both tasks were compared to a resting condition. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Compared to the resting condition, the semantic tasks, activated the superior temporal gyri bilaterally, the left frontal cortex, and right premotor cortex. The episodic tasks activated the left superior temporal gyrus, the frontal cortex bilaterally, and the right inferior parietal cortex. Compared to the episodic memory tasks, the semantic memory tasks activated the superior temporal/insular cortex bilaterally and the right premotor cortex. Compared to the semantic memory tasks, the episodic memory tasks activated the right frontal cortex. These results suggest that cortical networks implicated in semantic and episodic memory show both common and unique regions, with the right prefrontal cortex being the neural correlate specific of episodic remembering.     

The dissipating task-repetition benefit in cued task switching: Task-set decay or temporal distinctiveness?

Decay of task-set activation, as commonly assumed in models of task switching, has been thought to be indexed by manipulating the response-to-cue interval (RCI) in a task-cuing paradigm. We propose an alternative account for RCI effects suggesting that episodic task retrieval is modulated by temporal distinctiveness, which we define as the ratio between previous RCI and current RCI. In Experiment 1, increasing RCI decreased the task-repetition benefit, but the slope of the RCI function depended on the range of RCIs rather than on the absolute duration of the RCI. In Experiment 2, the RCIs were blocked or random, and in Experiment 3, trial-wise predictability of RCIs was manipulated. RCI influenced the task-repetition benefit only when RCI changed from the previous to the current trial. Experiment 4 used two cues for each task and dissociated cue-repetition priming from task-repetition priming, suggesting that it is episodic task-set retrieval that is influenced by temporal distinctiveness. We discuss theoretical implications for persisting-task-set-activation theories and the relation to long-term decay, inhibition, and temporal preparation in task switching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stability of working memory: Do previous tasks influence complex span?

Schmeichel (2007) reported that performing an initial task before completing a working memory span task can lower span scores and suggested that the effect was due to depleted cognitive resources. We showed that the detrimental effect of prior tasks depends on a match between the stimuli used in the span task and the preceding task. A task requiring participants to ignore words reduced performance on a subsequent word-based verbal span task but not on an arrow-based spatial span task. Ignoring arrows had the opposite pattern of effects: reducing performance on the spatial span task but not on the word-based span task. Finally, we showed that antisaccade, a nonverbal task that taxes domain-general processes implicated in working memory, did not influence subsequent performance of either a verbal or a spatial span task. Together these results suggest that while span is sensitive to prior tasks, that sensitivity does not stem from depleted resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

How does processing affect storage in working memory tasks? Evidence for both domain-general and domain-specific effects.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 37(3) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition (see record 2011-08992-004). Chen and Cowan (2009) is correctly cited in the body of the article but the reference at the end of the article is incorrect. The correct reference is in the correction.] Two studies that examine whether the forgetting caused by the processing demands of working memory tasks is domain-general or domain-specific are presented. In each, separate groups of adult participants were asked to carry out either verbal or nonverbal operations on exactly the same processing materials while maintaining verbal storage items. The imposition of verbal processing tended to produce greater forgetting even though verbal processing operations took no longer to complete than did nonverbal processing operations. However, nonverbal processing did cause forgetting relative to baseline control conditions, and evidence from the timing of individuals' processing responses suggests that individuals in both processing groups slowed their responses in order to “refresh” the memoranda. Taken together the data suggest that processing has a domain-general effect on working memory performance by impeding refreshment of memoranda but can also cause effects that appear domain-specific and that result from either blocking of rehearsal or interference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

One declarative memory system or two? The relationship between episodic and semantic memory in children with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: This study explored verbal semantic and episodic memory in children with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy to determine whether they had impairments in both or only 1 aspect of memory, and to examine relations between performance in the 2 domains. Method: Sixty-six children and adolescents (37 with seizures of left temporal lobe onset, 29 with right-sided onset) were given 4 tasks assessing different aspects of semantic memory (picture naming, fluency, knowledge of facts, knowledge of word meanings) and 2 episodic memory tasks (story recall, word list recall). Results: High rates of impairments were observed across tasks, and no differences were found related to the laterality of the seizures. Individual patient analyses showed that there was a double dissociation between the 2 aspects of memory in that some children were impaired on episodic but not semantic memory, whereas others showed intact episodic but impaired semantic memory. Conclusions: This double dissociation suggests that these 2 memory systems may develop independently in the context of temporal lobe pathology, perhaps related to differential effects of dysfunction in the lateral and mesial temporal lobe structures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading comprehension and working memory in learning-disabled readers: Is the phonological loop more important than the executive system?

This investigation explores the contribution of two working memory systems (the articulatory loop and the central executive) to the performance differences between learning-disabled (LD) and skilled readers. Performances of LD, chronological age (CA) matched, and reading level-matched children were compared on measures of phonological processing accuracy and speed (articulatory system), long-term memory (LTM) accuracy and speed, and executive processing. The results indicated that (a) LD readers were inferior on measures of articulatory, LTM, and executive processing; (b) LD readers were superior to RL readers on measures of executive processing, but were comparable to RL readers on measures of the articulatory and LTM system; (c) executive processing differences remained significant between LD and CA-matched children when measures of reading comprehension, articulatory processes, and LTM processes were partialed from the analysis; and (d) executive processing contributed significant variance to reading comprehension when measures of the articulatory and LTM systems were entered into a hierarchical regression model. In summary, LD readers experience constraints in the articulatory and LTM system, but constraints mediate only some of the influence of executive processing on reading comprehension. Further, LD readers suffer executive processing problems nonspecific to their reading comprehension problems.     

Focal/nonfocal cue effects in prospective memory: Monitoring difficulty or different retrieval processes?

We investigated whether focal/nonfocal effects (e.g., Einstein et al., 2005) in prospective memory (PM) are explained by cue differences in monitoring difficulty. In Experiment 1, we show that syllable cues (used in Einstein et al., 2005) are more difficult to monitor for than are word cues; however, initial-letter cues (in words) are similar in monitoring difficulty to word cues (Experiments 2a and 2b). Accordingly, in Experiments 3 and 4, we designated either an initial letter or a particular word as a PM cue in the context of a lexical decision task, a task that presumably directs attention to focal processing of words but not initial letters. We found that the nonfocal condition was more likely than the focal condition to produce costs to the lexical decision task (task interference). Furthermore, when task interference was minimal or absent, focal PM performance remained relatively high, whereas nonfocal PM performance was near floor (Experiment 4). Collectively, these results suggest that qualitatively different retrieval processes can support prospective remembering for focal versus nonfocal cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the dissociability of working memory systems for name identity, visual-object identity, and spatial location maintained in old age?

The dissociability of working memory for name identity (verbal information), visual objects, and spatial location was explored in 3 experiments. Consistent with previous results, the 3 working memory systems were dissociable in younger adults. Both younger and older adults showed involvement of name identity in an object identity task, and older adults showed this involvement in a spatial memory task. Results were interpreted as showing that the systems are generally separable but that involvement of 1 with another is possible and more likely in older adults. A 4th, correlational study showed that there is generalized decline in working memory systems in old age, with the age differences in memory mediated to a moderate extent by age-related differences in speed of processing. It was speculated that the specific, possibly strategic changes are independent of and take place against a backdrop of generalized loss of nervous system integrity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metacognition in prospective memory: Are performance predictions accurate?

This study investigated the role of metacognition in event-based prospective memory. The aim of the study was to explore the relation between an item-level prediction (judgments of learning, JOL) and actual performance. The task and JOLs allowed a differentiation of the two components of prospective memory tasks (retrospective vs. prospective). Results revealed that individuals' predictions were (moderately) accurate for delayed JOLs but not for JOLs that had to be given immediately after task encoding. Moreover, data revealed an underconfidence-with-practice effect only for the retrospective component. For the prospective component, a substantial and general level of underconfidence in individuals' prediction–performance ratios was observed. The importance of metacognitive factors for prospective memory is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related? A latent-variable analysis.

This study examined the relationships among visuospatial working memory (WM) executive functioning, and spatial abilities. One hundred sixty-seven participants performed visuospatial short-term memory (STM) and WM span tasks, executive functioning tasks, and a set of paper-and-pencil tests of spatial abilities that load on 3 correlated but distinguishable factors (Spatial Visualization, Spatial Relations, and Perceptual Speed). Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that, in the visuospatial domain, processing-and-storage WM tasks and storage-oriented STM tasks equally implicate executive functioning and are not clearly distinguishable. These results provide a contrast with existing evidence from the verbal domain and support the proposal that the visuospatial sketchpad may be closely tied to the central executive. Further, structural equation modeling results supported the prediction that, whereas they all implicate some degree of visuospatial storage, the 3 spatial ability factors differ in the degree of executive involvement (highest for Spatial Visualization and lowest for Perceptual Speed). Such results highlight the usefulness of a WM perspective in characterizing the nature of cognitive abilities and, more generally, human intelligence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lesions of the prelimbic–infralimbic cortices in rats do not disrupt response selection processes but induce delay-dependent deficits: Evidence for a role in working memory?

Effects of neurotoxic lesions of the prelimbic-infralimbic cortex (PL-IL) were examined in rats performing 2 conditional tasks. PL-IL-lesioned rats showed normal acquisition of a visuospatial conditional discrimination in a Y maze as well as a tone-light conditional discrimination in an operant chamber, indicating that the PL-IL is not necessary for response selection processes. When the working memory load was subsequently increased in the tone-light conditional discrimination, rats with PL-IL lesions showed a delay-dependent disruption of performance. This suggests a role of the PL-IL in some working memory processes. However, the present results, considered along with previous studies, suggest that the PL-IL does not seem to be directly involved in the processes necessary to maintain specific items over a delay period but rather in the planning of forthcoming behavioral responses on the basis of previously acquired information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in memory retrieval shift: Governed by feeling-of-knowing?

The noun-pair lookup (NP) task was used to evaluate strategic shift from visual scanning to retrieval. We investigated whether age differences in feeling-of-knowing (FOK) account for older adults' delayed retrieval shift. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) standard NP learning, (2) fast binary FOK judgments, or (3) Choice, where participants had to choose in advance whether to see the look-up table or respond from memory. We found small age differences in FOK magnitudes but major age differences in memory retrieval choices that mirrored retrieval use in the standard NP task. Older adults showed lower resolution in their confidence judgments (CJs) for recognition memory tests on the NP items, and this difference appeared to influence rates of retrieval shift, given that retrieval use was correlated with CJ magnitudes in both age groups. Older adults had particular difficulty with accuracy and confidence for rearranged pairs, relative to intact pairs. Older adults' slowed retrieval shift appears to be attributable to (1) impaired associative learning early in practice, not just a lower FOK; but also (2) retrieval reluctance later in practice after the degree of associative learning would afford memory-based responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are memory self-efficacy and memory performance related? A meta-analysis.

The association between memory self-efficacy (MSE) and memory performance is highly documented in the literature. However, previous studies have produced inconsistent results, and there is no consensus on the existence of a significant link between these two variables. In order to evaluate whether or not the effect size of the MSE–memory performance relationship in healthy adults is significant and to test several theory-driven moderators, we conducted a meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies. A random-effects model analysis of data from 107 relevant studies (673 effect sizes) indicated a low but significant weighted mean correlation between MSE and memory performance, r = .15, 95% CI [.13, .17]. In addition, the mean effect size was significantly moderated by the way MSE was assessed. Memory performance was more strongly related to concurrent MSE (perceived current ability to perform a given task) than it was to global MSE (perceived usual memory ability in general). Furthermore, we found marginally larger MSE–memory performance correlations when the memory situations used to assess MSE involved familiar stimuli. No effect of the method used to assess global MSE or domain MSE (memory rating vs. performance predictions) was found. The results also show that the resource demands of the memory tasks have a moderator effect, as the MSE–performance correlation is larger with free-recall and cued-recall tasks than it is with recognition tasks. Limitations (generalization issues, moderators not considered) and implications for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recall of interrupted tasks under stress: A phenomenon of memory or of learning?

The study proposed to answer three questions: "1. Is superior recall of successes in an intelligence test situation (S-recall) a function of selective forgetting (repression) of failures or selective learning in favor of successes? 2. Is superior recall of failures in this situation (F-recall) a function of selective remembering or selective learning in favor of failures? 3. Is there a mnemonic reaction to the test as a whole?" Findings indicate that: "1. Both the S- and f-recall tendencies were due to a selective learning rather than a selective remembering mechanism. 2. A repression was demonstrated for S-recallers with regard to the stress situation as a whole. 3. A comparable process of enhanced retention of the total stress situation was not demonstrated for F-recallers; rather the effect here was due to enhanced registration." Implications of results are discussed. It is suggested that "experimental tests of repression… fulfill a criterion of cognitive relevance of test materials." 23 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sadder and less accurate? False memory for negative material in depression.

Previous research has demonstrated that induced sad mood is associated with increased accuracy of recall in certain memory tasks; the effects of clinical depression, however, are likely to be quite different. The authors used the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm to examine the impact of clinical depression on erroneous recall of neutral and/or emotional stimuli. Specifically, they presented Deese-Roediger-McDermott lists that were highly associated with negative, neutral, or positive lures and compared participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder and nondepressed control participants on the accuracy of their recall of presented material and their false recall of never-presented lures. Compared with control participants, major depressive disorder participants recalled fewer words that had been previously presented but were more likely to falsely recall negative lures; there were no differences between major depressive disorder and control participants in false recall of positive or neutral lures. These findings indicate that depression is associated with false memories of negative material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hot or cold: Is communicating anger or threats more effective in negotiation?

Is communicating anger or threats more effective in eliciting concessions in negotiation? Recent research has emphasized the effectiveness of anger communication, an emotional strategy. In this article, we argue that anger communication conveys an implied threat, and we document that issuing threats is a more effective negotiation strategy than communicating anger. In 3 computer-mediated negotiation experiments, participants received either angry or threatening messages from a simulated counterpart. Experiment 1 showed that perceptions of threat mediated the effect of anger (vs. a control) on concessions. Experiment 2 showed that (a) threat communication elicited greater concessions than anger communication and (b) poise (being confident and in control of one's own feelings and decisions) ascribed to the counterpart mediated the positive effect of threat compared to anger on concessions. Experiment 3 replicated this positive effect of threat over anger when recipients had an attractive alternative to a negotiated agreement. These findings qualify previous research on anger communication in negotiation. Implications for the understanding of emotion and negotiation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining careers in sport psychology: Who is working and who is making money?

Can psychologists earn a living working in sport psychology? The authors surveyed all professional members of American Psychological Association Division 47 and the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology regarding their income and work in sport psychology. Four hundred and thirty-three individuals responded. Sport scientists were more likely to be working in academic settings and had incomes consistent with psychologists in academia. Sport scientists in applied settings were less successful financially. Clinical and counseling psychologists in applied settings were supplementing their income through applied sport psychology work. Part-time, supplemental involvement in sport psychology appears more practical today than full-time employment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarity in depressive symptoms in adolescents' friendship dyads: Selection or socialization?

This study examined friendship selection and socialization as mechanisms explaining similarity in depressive symptoms in adolescent same-gender best friend dyads. The sample consisted of 1,752 adolescents (51% male) ages 12–16 years (M = 13.77, SD = 0.73) forming 487 friend dyads and 389 nonfriend dyads (the nonfriend dyads served as a comparison group). To test our hypothesis, we applied a multigroup actor–partner interdependence model to 3 friendship types that started and ended at different time points during the 2 waves of data collection. Results showed that adolescents reported levels of depressive symptoms at follow-up that were similar to those of their best friends. Socialization processes explained the increase in similarity exclusively in female dyads, whereas no evidence for friendship selection emerged for either male or female dyads. Additional analyses revealed that similarity between friends was particularly evident in the actual best friend dyads (i.e., true best friends), in which evidence for socialization processes emerged for both female and male friend dyads. Findings highlight the importance of examining friendship relations as a potential context for the development of depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)