TY - JOUR
T1 - Working-memory performance is related to spatial breadth of attention
AU - Kreitz, Carina
AU - Furley, Philip
AU - Memmert, Daniel
AU - Simons, Daniel J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the German Research Council (DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) to the third author, ME 2678/11.1. The authors thank Carla Greving for her assistance in data collection, Sylvain Laborde for help with data analysis, and Michael J. Kane for valuable comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
PY - 2014/12/3
Y1 - 2014/12/3
N2 - Working memory and attention are closely related constructs. Models of working memory often incorporate an attention component, and some even equate working memory and attentional control. Although some attention-related processes, including inhibitory control of response conflict and interference resolution, are strongly associated with working memory, for other aspects of attention the link is less clear. We examined the association between working-memory performance and attentional breadth, the ability to spread attention spatially. If the link between attention and working memory is broader than inhibitory and interference resolution processes, then working-memory performance might also be associated with other attentional abilities, including attentional breadth. We tested 123 participants on a variety of working-memory and attentional-breadth measures, finding a strong correlation between performances on these two types of tasks. This finding demonstrates that the link between working memory and attention extends beyond inhibitory processes.
AB - Working memory and attention are closely related constructs. Models of working memory often incorporate an attention component, and some even equate working memory and attentional control. Although some attention-related processes, including inhibitory control of response conflict and interference resolution, are strongly associated with working memory, for other aspects of attention the link is less clear. We examined the association between working-memory performance and attentional breadth, the ability to spread attention spatially. If the link between attention and working memory is broader than inhibitory and interference resolution processes, then working-memory performance might also be associated with other attentional abilities, including attentional breadth. We tested 123 participants on a variety of working-memory and attentional-breadth measures, finding a strong correlation between performances on these two types of tasks. This finding demonstrates that the link between working memory and attention extends beyond inhibitory processes.
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U2 - 10.1007/s00426-014-0633-x
DO - 10.1007/s00426-014-0633-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 25468209
AN - SCOPUS:84945490792
SN - 0340-0727
VL - 79
SP - 1034
EP - 1041
JO - Psychological Research
JF - Psychological Research
IS - 6
ER -