Working memory study

What are we studying?

●      Working memory is a vital cognitive process that temporarily maintains and manipulates information during complex cognitive tasks (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). Clinically, assessment tasks from the Weschler Memory Scales (WMS-IV) and the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) are employed to assess working memory in individuals, but these tasks are poorly suited for individuals with impaired verbal and/or motor skills, hindering their performance and providing inaccurate estimates of their working memory.

●      This study was designed to validate a visual working memory, the Change Detection Task, which is used regularly in experimental research on working memory. The task can be readily adapted to require very minimal verbal or motor input from the examinee.  

●      A significant positive correlation was found between the Change Detection Task and one of the clinically used working memory tasks, the Spatial Addition Task, suggesting that the Change Detection Task is a valid measure of working memory.

●      More testing is needed, but clearly there is potential for the Change Detection Task to be usefully adapted to measure working memory in clinical settings. 

Curious to learn more about attention or visual cognition?  Here are some books that you might enjoy:

• Chabris, C. F., & Simons, D. J. (2010). The invisible gorilla: And other ways our intuitions deceive us. Harmony.

• Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. Penguin.  (Available as an e-book in the City of Gold Coast public library via Overdrive)

• Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Macmillan. (Available as an e-book in the City of Gold Coast public library via Overdrive)

• Gladwell, M. (2006). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking.  (Available as an e-book in the City of Gold Coast public library via Overdrive)