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Very important article (open source..click here to read/download) regarding cognitive functioning and working memory capacity and attentional control. For at least 15 years I’ve been monitoring research on the attentional-control working memory complex system (AC-Gwm)…(click here for numerous posts regarding the important of AC-Gwm). I’m convinced that the AC-Gwm complex system is one of the core cognitive efficiency systems that helps us understand general intellectual functioning. It has been found to be important in cognitive functioning and also in various forms of psychopathology.
Abstract
Working memory capacity (WMC) has long served as a central indicator of individual differences in complex cognition. However, growing evidence suggests that a substantial portion of its predictive power may reflect attention control (AC)—including goal maintenance, interference management, and inhibition—rather than storage capacity alone. This review synthesizes findings across six domains: (1) perception and sensory discrimination, (2) learning and problem solving, (3) cognitive control and decision making, (4) retrieval and memory performance, (5) multitasking and real-world performance, and (6) clinical applications. Across these areas, WMC-related effects frequently align with demands on AC, though the strength and nature of this alignment vary by domain. We highlight the importance of incorporating reliable AC measures and recommend latent-variable approaches to more clearly separate storage, control, and representational processes underlying complex performance.
Keywords: attention control; working memory capacity; executive attention; fluid intelligence; interference control; individual differences; latent-variable modeling; cognitive measurement
From conclusions:
Across six domains, the evidence reviewed here suggests that the broad predictive power traditionally associated with WMC often reflects the AC operations embedded within complex-span tasks—particularly goal maintenance, interference suppression, and disengagement. This does not diminish the importance of WMC as a measurable construct; rather, it clarifies that many WMC tasks draw on AC mechanisms, which are more directly tied to performance in interference-heavy contexts.
McGrew et al. (2023) identified a similar AC-Gwm complex system in a recent WJ V psychometric network analysis study. See the relevant research and comments from that article below (click here to access and download the paper). Again, a reminder—click on image to enlarge for easy reading.
