scholarly journals Comparation and validation of reading span tasks

Psihologija ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejan Lalovic ◽  
Dusan Vejnovic
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Memory Efficiency ◽  
Span Tasks

The aim of the present study was to compare two most widely employed versions of the reading span task in Serbian speaking population, with respect to the procedure and validity. First step was to compare psychometric properties of several measures of reading span, derived from each task version. Second step was to compare predictive validity of memory span and processing measures, for each task version. Two task versions proved to be parallel, with small discrepanciens, providing reliable and discriminative measures. The only exception was traditional reading span measure, which has not met any of psychometric standards. Therefore, we propose this measure to be abandoned. While processing measures showed better predictive validity with respect to criteria of verbal ability and reading comprehension, reading span measures independently contributed to prediction of the same criteria with only one exception. Results obtained suggest a small modifications of reading span tasks required in order to improve their psychometric properties. They also suggest combining processing and span measures might yield a better verbal working memory efficiency estimate.

The suppression effect in visuospatial and verbal working memory span tasks in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a 2-year follow-up study

Neurocase ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 426-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rosa Elosúa ◽  
Matías Peinado ◽  
María José Contreras ◽  
J. Manuel Reales ◽  
Pedro R. Montoro
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Suppression Effect ◽  
Follow Up Study ◽  
Span Tasks

The Measurement of Verbal Working Memory Capacity and Its Relation to Reading Comprehension

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria S. Waters ◽  
David Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Span Tasks

Ninety-four subjects were tested on the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) reading span task, four versions of a related sentence span task in which reaction times and accuracy on sentence processing were measured along with sentence-final word recall, two number generation tasks designed to test working memory, digit span, and two shape-generation tasks designed to measure visual-spatial working memory. Forty-four subjects were retested on a subset of these measures at a 3-month interval. All subjects were tested on standard vocabulary and reading tests. Correlational analyses showed better internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the sentence span tasks than of the Daneman-Carpenter reading span task. Factor analysis showed no factor that could be related to a central verbal working memory; rotated factors suggested groupings of tests into factors that correspond to digit related tasks, spatial tasks, sentence processing in sentence span tasks, and recall in sentence span tasks. Correlational analyses and regression analyses showed that the sentence processing component of the sentence span tasks was the best predictor of performance on the reading test, with a small independent contribution of the recall component. The results suggest that sentence span tasks are unreliable unless measurements are made of both their sentence processing and recall components, and that the predictive value of these tasks for reading comprehension abilities lies in the overlap of operations rather than in limitations in verbal working memory that apply to both.

scholarly journals Measuring verbal working memory capacity: A reading span task for laboratory and web-based use

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Klaus ◽  
Herbert Schriefers
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Complex Span ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Extreme Groups ◽  
Span Tasks

Typically, working memory (WM) capacity as a source of individual differences is assessed by complex span tasks which combine a processing and a storage task. However, there are no standardized open-source versions, and the tasks that are used are not easily comparable. We introduce a browser-based version of the reading span task, which yielded normally distributed recall performance scores. Next, we provide a within-participant comparison of this task to two other complex span tasks. Finally, we introduce a web-based version of the reading span task. WM scores were comparable to those obtained in the laboratory, but web participants were also faster and made more mistakes in the processing task. We conclude that the task introduced here is an adequate way to measure verbal WM capacity in the laboratory. In addition, it may prove to be a useful, time-efficient online tool, for instance to extract extreme groups from a larger sample.

scholarly journals Maintenance Mechanisms in Children’s Verbal Working Memory

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Laure Oftinger ◽  
Valerie Camos
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Concurrent Task ◽  
Verbal Information ◽  
Complex Span ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Joint Contribution

<p>Previous research in adults has indicated two maintenance mechanisms of verbal information in working memory, i.e., articulatory rehearsal and attentional refreshing. However, only three studies have examined their joint contribution to children’s verbal working memory. The present study aimed at extending this line of research by investigating the developmental changes occurring from 6 to 9 years old. In two experiments using complex span tasks, children of three different age groups maintained letters or words while performing a concurrent task. The opportunity for attentional refreshing was manipulated by varying the attentional demand of the concurrent task. Moreover, this task was performed either silently by pressing keys or aloud, the latter inducing a concurrent articulation. As expected, recall performance increased strongly with age. More interestingly, concurrent articulation had a detrimental effect on recall even in 6-year-old children. Similarly, introducing a concurrent attention-demanding task impaired recall performance at all ages. Finally, the effect of the availability of rehearsal and of attentional refreshing never interacted at any age. This suggested an independence of the two mechanisms in the maintenance of verbal information in children’s working memory. Implications for the development of rehearsal use and for the role of attention in working memory are discussed.</p>

Decreased processing speed might account for working memory span deficit in schizophrenia, and might mediate the associations between working memory span and clinical symptoms

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 473-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Brébion ◽  
C. Stephan-Otto ◽  
E. Huerta-Ramos ◽  
J. Usall ◽  
M. Perez del Olmo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Motor Speed ◽  
Speed Measure ◽  
Cognitive Speed

AbstractObjectiveVerbal working memory span is decreased in patients with schizophrenia, and this might contribute to impairment in higher cognitive functions as well as to the formation of certain clinical symptoms. Processing speed has been identified as a crucial factor in cognitive efficiency in this population. We tested the hypothesis that decreased processing speed underlies the verbal working memory deficit in patients and mediates the associations between working memory span and clinical symptoms.MethodForty-nine schizophrenia inpatients recruited from units for chronic and acute patients, and forty-five healthy participants, were involved in the study. Verbal working memory span was assessed by means of the letter-number span. The Digit Copy test was used to assess motor speed, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test to assess cognitive speed.ResultsThe working memory span was significantly impaired in patients (F(1,90) = 4.6, P < 0.05). However, the group difference was eliminated when either the motor or the cognitive speed measure was controlled (F(1,89) = 0.03, P = 0.86, and F(1,89) = 0.03, P = 0.88). In the patient group, working memory span was significantly correlated with negative symptoms (r = –0.52, P < 0.0001) and thought disorganisation (r = –0.34, P < 0.025) scores. Regression analyses showed that the association with negative symptoms was no longer significant when the motor speed measure was controlled (β = –0.12, P = 0.20), while the association with thought disorganisation was no longer significant when the cognitive speed measure was controlled (β = –0.10, P = 0.26).ConclusionsDecrement in motor and cognitive speed plays a significant role in both the verbal working memory impairment observed in patients and the associations between verbal working memory impairment and clinical symptoms.

scholarly journals Working-memory capacity predicts the executive control of visual search among distractors: The influences of sustained and selective attention

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 1430-1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley J. Poole ◽  
Michael J. Kane
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Visual Search ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Search Tasks ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Target Locations

Variation in working-memory capacity (WMC) predicts individual differences in only some attention-control capabilities. Whereas higher WMC subjects outperform lower WMC subjects in tasks requiring the restraint of prepotent but inappropriate responses, and the constraint of attentional focus to target stimuli against distractors, they do not differ in prototypical visual-search tasks, even those that yield steep search slopes and engender top-down control. The present three experiments tested whether WMC, as measured by complex memory span tasks, would predict search latencies when the 1–8 target locations to be searched appeared alone, versus appearing among distractor locations to be ignored, with the latter requiring selective attentional focus. Subjects viewed target-location cues and then fixated on those locations over either long (1,500–1,550 ms) or short (300 ms) delays. Higher WMC subjects identified targets faster than did lower WMC subjects only in the presence of distractors and only over long fixation delays. WMC thus appears to affect subjects’ ability to maintain a constrained attentional focus over time.

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