A sub-process view of working memory capacity: Evidence from effects of speech on prose memory

Abstract

In this article we outline a “sub-process view” of working memory capacity (WMC). This view suggests that any relationship between WMC and another construct (e.g., reading comprehension) is actually a relationship with a specific part of the WMC construct. The parts, called sub-processes, are functionally distinct and can be measured by intrusion errors in WMC tasks. Since the sub-processes are functionally distinct, some sub-process may be related to a certain phenomenon, whereas another sub-process is related to other phenomena. In two experiments we show that a sub-process (measured by immediate/current-list intrusions) is related to the effects of speech on prose memory (semantic auditory distraction), whereas another sub-process (measured by delayed/prior-list intrusions), known for its contribution to reading comprehension, is not. In Experiment 2 we developed a new WMC task called “size-comparison span” and found that the relationship between WMC and semantic auditory distraction is actually a relationship with a sub-process measured by current-list intrusions in our new task.

Keywords:

• Semantic auditory distraction
• Size-comparison span
• Sub-process view
• Working memory capacity

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dylan Jones, Anders Kjellberg, Staffan Hygge, Philip Beaman, and an anonymous reviewer for useful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. The research reported in this paper was funded by the University of Gävle and the Swedish Research Council.