Cognitive control of auditory distraction: Impact of task difficulty, foreknowledge, and working memory capacity supports duplex-mechanism account.

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Hughes ◽  
Mark J. Hurlstone ◽  
John E. Marsh ◽  
François Vachon ◽  
Dylan M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Auditory Distraction

Effects of Working Memory Capacity, Task Switching, and Task Difficulty on Multitasking Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 502-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shijing Liu ◽  
Amy Wadeson ◽  
Na Young Kim ◽  
Chang S. Nam
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
And Task

Multitasking requires human operators to handle the demands of multiple tasks through task switching at the same time and this ability is required in many jobs. Previous studies showed that different levels of working memory capacity (WMC) and task switching abilities can lead to differences on multitasking performance. With increased complexity of tasks, maintaining task performance is challenging. This study sought to find the relations of WMC, task switching, task difficulty, and multitasking performance. Multi-Attribute Task Battery II (MATB-II) was employed in this study as a platform to assess multitasking. Automated OSPAN and Trail Making Tasks (TMT) were used to assess WMC and the task switching ability, respectively. Results indicated that there were significant effects of these three parameters on multitasking performance. Other dimensions of multitasking performance will be addressed in future studies.

EXPRESS: Working Memory Capacity and Dual Mechanisms of Cognitive Control: An Experimental-Correlational Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110664
Author(s):  
Kevin Rosales ◽  
Jean-Paul Snijder ◽  
Andrew Conway ◽  
Corentin Gonthier
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Proactive Control ◽  
Effective Mechanism ◽  
Correlational Approach ◽  
And Performance

Working memory is thought to be strongly related to cognitive control. Recent studies have sought to understand this relationship under the prism of the dual mechanisms of control (DMC) framework, in which cognitive control is thought to operate in two distinct modes: proactive and reactive. Several authors have concluded that a high working memory capacity is associated with a tendency to engage the more effective mechanism of proactive control. However, the predicted pattern of proactive control use has never been observed; correlational evidence is made difficult to interpret by the overall superiority of participants with a high working memory capacity: they tend to perform better even when proactive control should be detrimental. In two experiments, we used an experimental-correlational approach to experimentally induce the use of reactive or proactive control in the AX-CPT. The relation between working memory capacity and performance was unaffected, incompatible with the hypothesis that the better performance of participants with a high working memory capacity in the task is due to their use of proactive control. It remains unclear how individual differences in working memory capacity relate to cognitive control under the DMC framework.

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