Cognitive capacity differences among writers.

Benton, Stephen L.; Kraft, Robert G.; Glover, John A.; Plake, Barbara S.

doi:10.1037/0022-0663.76.5.820

Cited by 69 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…However, recent research has suggested an attenuated relationship between WMC and construction of the situation model, which might explain the lack of a general WMC effect on this essay task (Radvansky & Copeland, 2004). Thus, the process of writing an essay might simply be less sensitive to differences in WMC, although it has been shown to correlate with an individual's ability to hold and simultaneously process information in prior research (Benton, Kraft, Glover, & Plake, 1984).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

An examination of the seductive details effect in terms of working memory capacity

2006

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Previous work on learning from text has demonstrated that although illustrated text can enhance comprehension, illustrations can also sometimes lead to poor learning outcomes when they are not relevant to understanding the text. This phenomenon is known as the seductive details effect. The first experiment was designed to test whether the ability to control one's attention, as measured by working memory span tasks, would influence the processing of a scientific text that contained seductive (irrelevant) images, conceptually relevant images, or no illustrations. Understanding was evaluated using both an essay response and an inference verification task. Results indicated that low working memory capacity readers are especially vulnerable to the seductive details effect. In the second experiment, this issue was explored further, using eye-tracking methodology to evaluate the reading patterns of individuals who differed in working memory capacity as they read the same seductively illustrated scientific text. Results indicated that low working memory individuals attend to seductive illustrations more often than not and, also, for a longer duration than do those individuals high in working memory capacity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

An examination of the seductive details effect in terms of working memory capacity

2006

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“…Performance on WM span tasks correlates with a wide range of higher order cognitive tasks, such as reading and listening comprehension (Daneman & Carpenter, 1983;Daneman & Merikle, 1996), language comprehension (King & Just, 1991), following oral and spatial directions (Engle, Carullo, & Collins, 1991), vocabulary learning from context (Daneman & Green, 1986), note taking in class (Kiewra & Benton, 1988), writing (Benton, Kraft, Glover, & Plake, 1984), reasoning (Barrouillet, 1996;Kyllonen & Christal, 1990), hypothesis generation (Dougherty & Hunter, 2003), bridge playing (Clarkson-Smith & Hartley, 1990), and complex-task learning (Kyllonen & Stephens, 1990).…”

Section: Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide

Conway¹,

Kane

Bunting³

et al. 2005

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

2,260

2,174

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Working memory (WM) span tasks-and in particular, counting span, operation span, and reading span tasks-are widely used measures of WM capacity. Despite their popularity, however, there has never been a comprehensive analysis of the merits of WM span tasks as measurement tools. Here, we review the genesis of these tasks and discuss how and why they came to be so influential. In so doing, we address the reliability and validity of the tasks, and we consider more technical aspects of the tasks, such as optimal administration and scoring procedures. Finally, we discuss statistical and methodological techniques that have commonly been used in conjunction with WM span tasks, such as latent variable analysis and extreme-groups designs.

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“…Measures of working memory capacity have been shown to predict performance on cognitive activities as diverse as reading, listening, writing, solving verbal and spatial reasoning problems, and programming a computer (see, e.g., Baddeley, Logic, Nimmo-Smith, & Brereton, 1985;Benton, Kraft, Glover, & Plake, 1984;Daneman & Carpenter, 1980Daneman & Green, 1986;Gathercole & Baddeley, 1993;Jurden, 1995;Kyllonen & Christal, 1990;Kyllonen & Stephens, 1990;Masson & Miller, 1983;Shah & Miyake, 1996;Shute, 1991; for reviews, see Daneman & Merikle, 1996;Engle, 1996). These findings suggest that working memory plays a role in the performance of a range of educationally relevant complex cognitive tasks and that individuals with large working memory capacities do better on these tasks than do individuals with smaller working memory capacities.…”

Section: Working Memory As a Predictor Of Complex Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using working memory theory to investigate the construct validity of multiple-choice reading comprehension tests such as the SAT.

Daneman¹,

Hannon²

2001

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

102

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When taking multiple-choice tests of reading comprehension such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), test takers use a range of strategies that vary in the extent to which they emphasize reading the questions versus reading the passages. Researchers have challenged the construct validity of these tests because test takers can achieve better-than-chance performance even if they do not read the passages at all. By using an individual-differences approach that compares the relative power of working memory span to predict SAT performance for different test-taking strategies, the authors show that the SAT appears to be tapping reading comprehension processes as long as test takers engage in at least some reading of the passages themselves.

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Cognitive capacity differences among writers.

Cited by 69 publications

References 16 publications

An examination of the seductive details effect in terms of working memory capacity

An examination of the seductive details effect in terms of working memory capacity

Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide

Using working memory theory to investigate the construct validity of multiple-choice reading comprehension tests such as the SAT.

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