- PII
- S0205-95920000419-7-1
- DOI
- 10.7868/S20000419-7-1
- Publication type
- Article
- Status
- Published
- Authors
- Abstract
- The effects of working memory load, cognitive processing complexity and interference on working memory span were studied. It was hypothesized that working memory consists of independent functionally distinct components related to information storage and processing. Three experiments with 36 subjects were conducted. Working memory load, interference level and processing complexity were varied. An effect of working memory load was found in that storage effectiveness was reduced with higher load. The negative effect of interference on storage effectiveness increased under increased working memory load. The results indicate that working memory consists of a highly reliable storage system with limited capacity (region of direct access), two components differently sensitive to interference (region of direct access and activated part of long-term memory), and an independent component related to the processing of the active cognitive representation (focus of attention).
- Keywords
- Working memory, interference, processing complexity, focus of attention, long-term memory, information storage, information processing
- Date of publication
- 03.05.2015
- Year of publication
- 2015
- Number of purchasers
- 1
- Views
- 699