Working memory complex span tasks and fluid intelligence: Does the positional structure of the task matter?
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BRIEF REPORT
Working memory complex span tasks and fluid intelligence: Does the positional structure of the task matter? Miriam Debraise1 · Nicolas Gauvrit2 · Fabien Mathy1 Accepted: 31 August 2020 © The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2020
Abstract The complex span task used to evaluate working memory (WM) capacity has been considered to be the most predictive task of fluid intelligence. However, the structure of the complex span tasks varies from one study to another, and it has not been questioned yet whether these variants could influence the predictive power of these tasks. Previous studies have typically used either structures based on alternating processing-storage patterns or alternating storage-processing patterns. We present one experiment in which the participants were submitted to both the processing-storage vs. storage-processing types. After completing both types of complex span tasks, the participants performed a reasoning test (Matrix Reasoning of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - WAIS-IV). The results showed a significant difference in the WM spans between the two conditions, with higher spans observed in the processing-storage alternating structure, and different serial position curves. However, the correlations showed that both types of tasks remained equally predictive of performance in the reasoning test. These results are discussed in regard to the time-based resource-sharing model. Keywords Working Memory · Complex span task · Higher order cognition The complex span tasks used to assess working memory capacity are predictive of many aspects of higher-order cognition. However, the structures of these tasks vary from one study to another, and it has never been called into question whether these variations could influence their predictive power. Previous research has exclusively used two types of complex span task structures, either those based on alternating storage-processing patterns (e.g., the operation span task of Unsworth, Heitz, Schrock, & Engle, (2005)) or alternating storage-processing patterns (e.g., the operation span task used by Barrouillet and Camos (2001)). The difference between these two types of tasks relies on whether the task begins with a processing episode that captures attention (e.g., solving mathematical operations, reading digits aloud) or by a storage episode involving the maintenance of presented items (e.g., letters, words, digits, shapes). We believe that the potential effect of the various Miriam Debraise
[email protected] 1
Universit´e Cˆote d’Azur, CNRS, BCL, Nice, France
2
Universit´e de Lille, Lille, France
structures of complex span tasks should not be overlooked for two main reasons. First, complex span tasks are extensively used in correlational studies, for instance, in examining the relationship between the span and fluid intelligence. Depending on the material used in complex span tasks, variations from moderate to strong correlations have been found (e.g., Kane et al., 2004; Kanerva & Kalakoski, 2016; Lucidi, Loaiza, Camos, & Bar
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