Working Memory Capacity as Executive Attention |
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Authors: | Randall W Engle |
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Institution: | School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia |
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Abstract: | Performance on measures of working memory (WM) capacity predicts performance on a wide range of real-world cognitive tasks. I review the idea that WM capacity (a) is separable from short-term memory, (b) is an important component of general fluid intelligence, and (c) represents a domain-free limitation in ability to control attention. Studies show that individual differences in WM capacity are reflected in performance on antisaccade, Stroop, and dichotic-listening tasks. WM capacity, or executive attention, is most important under conditions in which interference leads to retrieval of response tendencies that conflict with the current task. |
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Keywords: | working memory capacity attention |
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