Social Communication Impairs Working-Memory Performance

Abstract

Performance on working-memory tests is frequently used in experimental psychology and neuroscience, as well as in neuropsychological testing and clinical screening. It can be strongly affected by the social context and the communication style of the experimenter. We tested this hypothesis in two experiments, examining standardized neuropsychological working-memory tests in different social communication contexts. Our results show that the more ostensive communication context (eye contact, exaggerated intonation contours) impairs working-memory performance. These results draw attention to the fact that the communication style of the examiner could have a robust effect on working-memory performance and could even modify clinical diagnosis.

Keywords:

• live speech and recorded voice
• natural pedagogy
• neuropsychological testing
• ostensive communication
• social influences
• third-party observer
• working memory

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Gabor Orosz, Zsuzsa Londe, Agnes Szokolszky, and Donald Peckham for helpful comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by the Hungarian Science Foundation (OTKA MB08A 84743).

Notes

The authors contributed equally to this work. The authors report no conflict of interest and have no financial disclosure.