Shortened complex span tasks can reliably measure working memory capacity

Measures of working memory capacity (WMC), such as complex span tasks (e.g., operation span), have become some of the most frequently used tasks in cognitive psychology. However, due to the length of time it takes to complete these tasks many researchers trying to draw conclusions about WMC forgo pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memory & cognition Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 226 - 236
Main Authors: Foster, Jeffrey L., Shipstead, Zach, Harrison, Tyler L., Hicks, Kenny L., Redick, Thomas S., Engle, Randall W.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Boston Springer US 01.02.2015
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age differences
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Complexity
Experiments
Female
Fluid intelligence
Humans
Individuality
Intelligence - physiology
Male
Mathematical problems
Measurement
Measures
Memory
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Neuropsychological Tests
Programming languages
Psychology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Researchers
Short term memory
Young Adult
Intelligence
Individual differences
Working memory
ISSN:0090-502X, 1532-5946, 1532-5946
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Measures of working memory capacity (WMC), such as complex span tasks (e.g., operation span), have become some of the most frequently used tasks in cognitive psychology. However, due to the length of time it takes to complete these tasks many researchers trying to draw conclusions about WMC forgo properly administering multiple tasks. But can the complex span tasks be shortened to take less administration time? We address this question by splitting the tasks into three blocks of trials, and analyzing each block’s contribution to measuring WMC and predicting fluid intelligence (Gf). We found that all three blocks of trials contributed similarly to the tasks’ ability to measure WMC and Gf, and the tasks can therefore be substantially shortened without changing what they measure. In addition, we found that cutting the number of trials by 67 % in a battery of these tasks still accounted for 90 % of the variance in their measurement of Gf. We discuss our findings in light of administering the complex span tasks in a method that can maximize their accuracy in measuring WMC, while minimizing the time taken to administer.
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ISSN:0090-502X
1532-5946
1532-5946
DOI:10.3758/s13421-014-0461-7