Differential involvement of working memory capacity and fluid intelligence in verbal associative learning as a possible function of strategy-use

Paired-associate tasks are popular tasks used in basic and applied research on human memory and learning. A number of studies have shown that individuals differ in the strategies they use to encode information in paired-associate tasks and, importantly, that strategies differ in their effectiveness. What is not so well documented is how different strategies may affect the cognitive processes assessed by paired-associate tasks. In this study, we submit archival data to distributional and latent class analyses to infer strategy-use and classify individuals as elaborators or non-elaborators. We then used regression analyses within subgroups to identify differences in dependence on fluid intelligence and working memory capacity. To the extent that our classification of individuals was accurate, the results suggest that paired-associate learning is more reliant on fluid intelligence when elaborative rehearsal is utilized and more reliant on working memory capacity when using non-elaborative strategies. To offer further evidence of the validity of our approach, we also investigated correlations between strategy-use and fluid intelligence and working memory capacity. In accord with prior research, we found that cognitive abilities were positively correlated with what we infer to be differences in strategy-use. That the cognitive processes assessed by verbal paired-associate tasks may vary as a function of strategy-use should be a concern for all researchers and practitioners who use such tasks.

Clues to Human Creativity

Creativity is one of the defining features of humanity. However, the mechanisms involved in the generation of novel and interesting ideas are not, at least from this perspective, extensively studied. Creativity as a property is easily (if subjectively) identified but notoriously hard to do define. One aspect on which most definitions agree is the necessity for domain knowledge: to be significantly creative in an area of endeavor, one needs knowledge of that area. Such a need entails the involvement of human memory and learning as a precursor to creative activity. In this chapter, the authors discuss the relationship between memory and creativity, looking at the potential for mathematical models and empirical study to elucidate the connections between them.