scholarly journals Novices’ performance using hypertext materials: Shedding light on disorientation

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-205
Author(s):  
Álvaro Jáñez ◽  
Javier Rosales
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
General Assumption ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Elaborative Interrogation ◽  
Navigation Patterns

Many researchers have proposed a causal link between low domain knowledge and disorientation in hypertext. Our objective was to challenge this hypothesis, examining other variables that might have an influence, such as design, reading instructions, or working memory capacity. We analysed navigation patterns and comprehension scores in a sample of low topic knowledge undergraduate students (N = 45) who were assigned to one of three hypertext conditions: reading for a test, reading to write a summary, and elaborative interrogation. Another sample (N = 45) of low knowledgeable undergraduate students were used as a control group, performing the same tasks using printed texts. Regarding disorientation, and contrasting with previous research, only a minority of students became disoriented in hypertext. Neither reading instructions nor working memory capacity had the expected impact on readers’ behaviour or outcomes, so hypertext design might be a key aspect on explaining disorientation. Implications for hypertext design and education are discussed.   Implications for practice or policy: The general assumption of low prior knowledge readers becoming disoriented in hypertext is falsified. Educational hypertext designers should always consider hypertext structure, graphical overviews, and usability elements. Educators must be aware that novices may show difficulties to adapt their learning behaviour to different reading goals.

scholarly journals Converging Evidence that Higher Trait Working Memory Capacity aids Standardized Test Performance under Race Related Stereotype Threat

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
LaTasha R Holden ◽  
Kerri A. Goodwin ◽  
Andrew R. A. Conway
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Standardized Test Performance

Stereotype threat (ST) occurs when individuals primed with negative stereotypes underperform relative to a control group. The current work considers individual differences in ST effects on real world measures like standardized test performance (SDTP). Working Memory Capacity (WMC) is investigated as a mediator and/or moderator of ST for race/ethnicity. Findings revealed a lack of strong evidence for the effect of ST. However, we demonstrated that trait WMC moderates ST for race such that higher WMC is associated with higher scores on standardized tests under conditions of race related ST. For future work on ST, we consider replication issues as well as the importance of WMC for performance under ST including how WMC and SDTP have been shown to improve through implementing self-regulation and mindfulness.

scholarly journals Psychophysiological, but Not Behavioral, Indicator of Working Memory Capacity Predicts Video Game Proficiency

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Jakubowska ◽  
Paweł Dobrowolski ◽  
Alicja Anna Binkowska ◽  
Ibrahim V. Arslan ◽  
Monika Myśliwiec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Working Memory ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Passive Control ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Variable Environment

Visual working memory (VWM) is the ability to actively maintain visual information over short periods of time and is strongly related to global fluid intelligence and overall cognitive ability. In our study, we used two indices of visual working memory capacity: the behavioral estimate of capacity (K) and contralateral delay activity (CDA) in order to check whether training in a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) video game StarCraft II can influence the VWM capacity measured by the change detection task. We also asked a question whether individual differences in behavioral and psychophysiological indices of VWM can predict the effectiveness of video game training. Sixty-two participants (non-players) were recruited to the experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to either experimental (Variable environment), active control (Fixed environment), and passive control groups. Experimental and active control groups differed in the type of training received. Training consisted of 30 h of playing the StarCraft II game. Participants took part in two EEG sessions (pre- and post-training) during which they performed the VWM task. Our results showed that working memory capacity (K calculated according to Pashler’s formula) increases after training in both experimental groups, but not in a control group. We have also found a correlation between average visual working memory capacity (calculated as K) and mean CDA amplitude no matter which group we are looking at. And, last but not least, we have found that we can predict the amount of improvement in the RTS video game by looking at the psychophysiological indices (CDA amplitude) recorded at baseline (before training), but only in the experimental group. We think that the strength of the psychophysiological indicator of VWM capacity might be a marker of the future success in video game acquisition.

The influence of personality and working memory capacity on implicit learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 2603-2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Guzmán Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reaction Time ◽  
Implicit Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Personality Test ◽  
Serial Reaction ◽  
Task Conditions

The main objective of this study was to influence implicit learning through two different classical manipulations and to inspect whether working memory capacity (WMC) and personality were related to the different measures of learning. With that purpose, in Experiment 1 we asked 172 undergraduate students of psychology to perform a serial reaction time (SRT) task under single- or dual-task conditions and to complete a WMC task and a personality test. In Experiment 2, 164 students performed the SRT task under incidental or intentional conditions and also filled a WMC task and a personality test. In both experiments, WMC influenced learning, but this relation was found only when attention was not loaded (Experiment 1) or when intentional instructions were given (Experiment 2). The pattern of relations with personality, although more varied, also showed a commonality between both experiments: learning under the most implicit conditions correlated positively with extraversion.

Working memory capacity, and selective attention in older children with mathematics learning disabilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Ahmed Kamal
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Visual Selective Attention ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Significant Difference

Both verbal and visuospatial working memory adding to selective attention, have been examined in two groups (Mean age = 12.59 years old). One of the two groups displaying math learning disabilities (n=36), this group acts as an experimental group, and the other group without learning disabilities acts as a control group (n=36), the two groups were matched for age and IQ. The two groups presented with complex span tasks to assess working memory capacity (WMC), operation span task (OSPAN) used to assess verbal working memory capacity, symmetry span task used to assess visuospatial working memory capacity; the two previous tasks administrated automatically by using computers. Selective attention assessed in the two groups by using a colored square task (CST) that used for assessing visual selective attention and it administrated automatically. Results revealed that the performance of children with MLD was lower than the control group (typically achieving children) in both verbal and visuospatial working memory, moreover, the two groups differed in the number of correct responses (accuracy) in visual selective attention for typically achieved children, but there is no significant difference between them in response time (speed).

scholarly journals Noise increases listening effort in normal-hearing young adults, regardless of working memory capacity (preprint, Dec 2018)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Feld Strand
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
General Assumption ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Listening Task ◽  
The Relationship

As listening conditions worsen (e.g., background noise increases), additional cognitive effort is required to process speech. The existing literature is mixed on whether and how cognitive traits like working memory capacity moderate the amount of effort that listeners must expend to successfully understand speech. Here, we validate a dual-task measure of listening effort (Experiment 1) and demonstrate that, for normal-hearing young adults, effort increases as listening conditions worsen, but working memory capacity is unrelated to the amount of effort expended (Experiment 2). We propose that previous research may have overestimated the relationship between listening effort and working memory capacity by measuring listening effort using recall-based tasks, but the relationship between the two disappears when using a measure of listening effort that does not require recall. These results suggest caution in making the general assumption that working memory capacity is related to the amount of effort expended during a listening task.

scholarly journals Navigation and Comprehension of Digital Expository Texts: Hypertext Structure, Previous Domain Knowledge, and Working Memory Capacity

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (37) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debora I. Burin ◽  
Juan P. Barreyro ◽  
Gastón Saux ◽  
Natalia C. Irrazábal
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Expository Texts

Introducción. La lectura de textos digitales es cada vez más extendida en la sociedad de la información contemporánea. Uno de los rasgos más salientes de los textos digitales es su interconexión mediante enlaces, resultando en hipertextos no lineales. Entre los principales factores que afectan a la comprensión de textos expositivos digitales se encuentran la estructura del hipertexto y el conocimiento previo específico de dominio. Desde la teoría de la Carga Cognitiva, la capacidad de la memoria de trabajo debería también jugar un papel en las decisiones sobre la navegación, así como en la construcción del modelo de situación para la comprensión. El presente experimento analizó los efectos de la estructura hipertextual, el conocimiento previo, y la capacidad de la memoria de trabajo, en la navegación y comprensión de textos expositivos digitales.Método. Cincuenta y seis participantes completaron un test de memoria de trabajo, y leyeron cuatro textos digitales para luego contestar preguntas sobre los mismos. En un diseño intrasujeto se manipularon la estructura del hipertexto (jerárquica vs. en red) y el conocimiento específico de dominio (alto vs. bajo). La navegación se indexó teniendo en cuenta el tiempo total empleado en cada texto, el número total de páginas visitadas por texto, el número de vueltas a la página de inicio, y el número de enlaces no lineales visitados.Resultados. Se hallaron mejores resultados en comprensión para los textos de alto conocimiento previo y para los participantes con alta capacidad de memoria de trabajo. La interfase en red condujo a una navegación menos lineal respecto de la estructura jerárquica. Por otro lado, en la estructura en red, los textos de alto conocimiento previo llevaron a visitar más páginas, a más enlaces no lineales durante la lectura, y a una mayor cantidad de retornos a la página de inicio. Asimismo, los participantes con alta memoria de trabajo que leían textos de alto conocimiento previo emplearon mayor tiempo en total.Discusión. En conjunto, este patrón de resultados se suma a la literatura acerca de los beneficios que provee una interfase jerárquica, y a los efectos de desorientación que tienen los hipertextos no estructurados, cuando el conocimiento previo es bajo. Por otro lado, cuando el conocimiento previo es alto y los participantes poseen alta capacidad de memoria de trabajo, un patrón de navegación más variable ayudaría a promover una construcción más activa en la comprensión lectora.

scholarly journals The relationship between working memory capacity and temporal and dichotic auditory processing in teachers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeideh Mehrkian ◽  
Zahra Mozaffari ◽  
Enayatollah Bakhshi
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Case Group ◽  
Speech Perception In Noise

Background and Aim: Because speech percep­tion is disturbed in people who are exposed to noise, this study aimed to investigate the effect of work environment noise on working memory capacity, temporal, and dichotic auditory proce­ssing and relationship between them in elemen­tary school teachers. Methods: Fifty-six female aged 30−50 years were enrolled in our study case and control groups. A total of 28 teachers with normal hearing and poor speech perception in noise were in the case group, and 28 women were controls with normal hearing and good scores in speech perception in noise who did not work in a noisy environment. Working memory tests, dichotic digit test (DDT) and gap-detection test (GDT) were performed for both groups. The mean score of each test was obtained from the two groups and the results were analyzed. Results: Comparison of means between the two groups in DDT, GDT, and working memory capacity test showed that the scores of the case group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05). There was no correla­tion between working memory capacity test, DDT, and GDT scores. (p > 0.05, r < 0.1). Conclusion: Noise exposure in the work envi­ronment causes weakness in temporal and dich­otic auditory processing, and working memory capacity. But there was no correlation between working memory capacity and auditory proce­ssing. The findings of this study show the eff­ects of noise exposure on speech perception and the need to protect hearing from noise.

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