Research Alert: Looking into working memory through micro eye movements—“mind leaks” via the eyes

Quick email-based FYI research alert.

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Interesting article on how the study of small eye movements during activity working memory task performance can shed light on possible mental processes…..I like the concept of “mind leaks” via eye movements.  Good news….this is an open access article available at link below👍

 

Looking into working memory through micro eye movements: Trends in Cognitive Sciences 
https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(26)00128-2

Pardon typos and spelling errors-Message may be sent from iPhone and I've always had spelling problems :)

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Kevin S. McGrew, PhD
Educational & School Psychologist
Director
Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)
https://www.themindhub.com
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Research alert: Importance of #workingmemory (#Gwm) in dynamic sports performance

Quick FYI email blog post.  Sorry…this is not an open access article.😕

 

 

Working memory capacity governs conflict resolution in expert decision-making: correlational and causal evidence: International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access 
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1612197X.2026.2662263

 

In fast-paced sports, athletes constantly face the conflict between relying on pre-set tactical heuristics and analyzing dynamic situations. Successfully navigating these scenarios depends on the ability to inhibit prepotent heuristic responses. This study proposes that Working Memory Capacity (WMC) is a crucial cognitive resource supporting this inhibition ability. To test this hypothesis, two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, 42 participants (n = 21 per group), selected from an initial pool of 80 and divided into high and low WMC groups via extreme-groups analysis, completed conflict and non-conflict decision-making scenarios. The results showed that athletes with high WMC exhibited significantly higher decision accuracy specifically in conflict scenarios compared to the low WMC group, while no significant difference was observed in non-conflict scenarios. In Experiment 2, 34 participants with homogeneous WMC levels repeated the tasks from Experiment 1 while simultaneously performing a cognitive load task to manipulate available WMC resources. The results indicated that cognitive load selectively reduced accuracy in conflict scenarios but increased accuracy in non-conflict scenarios. Collectively, these findings suggest the causal role of WMC in overriding heuristic bias, offering new perspectives for sports performance analysis and talent selection for key tactical positions.

KEYWORDS: 

• Working memory capacity
• sport decision-making
• cognitive conflict
• controlled attention
• inhibitory control

Research alert: Executive functions and psychopathology: A transdiagnostic network analysis - #networkanalysis #executivefunctions #Gwm #AC #workingmemory #attentionalcontrol #psychopathology #schoolpsychologists #schoolpsychology #AC-Gwmcomplex

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Following up on my post the other day that suggests that the AC-Gwm (attentional control-working memory) complex is key to cognitive functioning, a new article implicating the same complex in preadolescent psychopathology.  It is becoming more clear that the AC-Gwm complex is central key for understanding a variety of human behaviors.  

Open access article available here.

Abstract

Mental health research is shifting toward dimensional, transdiagnostic frameworks, yet the role of executive functions (EFs) across psychopathological domains remains unclear. In this study, we examined transdiagnostic associations and potential directional pathways linking EFs with psychopathology in a large sample of preado-lescents (N = 9,119) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. We employed a Gaussian graphical model (GGM) to estimate partial correlations and a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to infer potential directional influences between EFs and psychopathology. Modest associations were observed among the EFs and psy-chopathology. Working memory emerged as a central node, showing positive asso-ciations with attention problems, social problems, and rule-breaking behavior, and negative associations with anxious/depressed and somatic complaints. These results were mirrored in the DAG, which identified working memory and attention problems as key converging hubs. Sex-stratified analyses revealed notable differences in net-work structure. Our findings reveal a core transdiagnostic role for working memory in preadolescent psychopathology.

Research alert-very important article: Beyond Working Memory Capacity: Attention Control as the Underlying Mechanism of Cognitive Abilities - #cognitive #intelligence #Gwm #attentionalcontrol #AC #workingmemory #WJIV #WJV #schoolpsychology #schoolpsychologists #cognition

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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.

The effect of #processingspeed [#Gs] on academic #fluency in children with #neurodevelopmental disorders - #CHC #WISCV #WJV #intelligence #schoolpsychologists #schoolpsychology #SLD #SLD #SPED #fluency #EDPSY

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PDF copy of article can be downloaded here.

Abstract 

Poor processing speed (PS) is frequently observed in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. However, mixed findings exist on the predictive validity of such processing speed impairment and the role of working memory (WM). We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients evaluated at a developmental assessment clinic between March 2018 and December 2022. Patients with available data on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) and the Woodcock-Johnson, Fourth Edition, Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH) were included (n = 77, 69 % male; Mage = 10.6, SDage = 2.5; FSIQ range = 47–129). We performed a mediation analysis with academic fluency (AF) as the dependent variable, PS as the predictor, WM as the mediator, and academic skills and general intelligence as covariates. Both the direct and indirect effects of PS were significant prior to adding covariates. However, only the direct effect of PS was robust, independent of the effects of academic skills and general intelligence. The indirect effect of PS through WM was insignificant after accounting for the general academic skills and intelligence. Therefore, PS explains a unique variance in AF. This finding suggests that PS may be an exception to the criticism of cognitive profile analysis. Interpreting the PS score as a relative strength or weakness within a cognitive profile may uniquely predict their timed academic performance in youth with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Research Byte: Development of #Arithmetic Across the #Lifespan: A Registered Report. - #Gq #CHC #Gwm #EF #Gs #schoolpsychology #SPED #SLD

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Development of Arithmetic Across the Lifespan: A Registered Report.  

Open access paper available at Developmental Psychology journal.  Click here to access

Abstract

 

Arithmetic skills are needed at any age. In everyday life, children to older adults calculate and deal with numbers. The processes underlying arithmetic seem to change with age. From childhood to younger adulthood, children get better in domain-specific numerical skills such as place-value processing. From younger to older adulthood, domain-general cognitive skills such as working memory decline. These skills are needed for complex arithmetic such as addition with carrying and subtraction with borrowing. This study investigates how the domain-specific (number magnitude, place-value processing) and domain-general (working memory, processing speed, inhibition) processes of arithmetic change across the lifespan. Thereby, arithmetic effects (carry and borrow effects), numerical effects (distance and compatibility effects), and cognitive skills were assessed in children, younger and older adolescents, and younger, middle-aged and older adults. The results showed that numerical and arithmetic skills improve from childhood to young adulthood and remain relatively stable throughout adulthood, even though domain-general pro-cesses, particularly working memory and processing speed, decline with age. While number magnitude and place-value processing both develop until adulthood, number magnitude processing shows deficits during aging, whereas place-value processing remains intact even in old age. The carry effect shifts from a categorical all-or-none decision (whether or not a carry operation is needed) to a more continuous magnitude process in adulthood, reflecting increasing reliance on domain-specific skills. In contrast, the borrow effect remains largely categorical across all age groups, depending on general cognitive processes. These results provide critical insights into how arithmetic skills change over the lifespan, relying on both domain-specific and domain-general processes.

Public Significance Statement 

Numerical and arithmetic skills improve significantly during school and are mostly preserved throughout adulthood—despite a decline in cognitive skills such as working memory and processing speed during aging. When facing complex arithmetic, all—from children up to older adults—need longer to calculate, but lifelong experience helps in dealing with arithmetic complexity. Throughout the lifespan, arithmetic requires both cognitive skills as well as numeric skills.

Research Byte: Individual differences in #workingmemory (Gwm) and #attentionalcontrol (#AC) continue to predict memory #Gl) performance despite extensive learning—#CHC #schoolpsychology

Individual differences in working memory and attentional control continue to predict memory performance despite extensive learning.

Zhao, C., & Vogel, E. K. (2025). Individual differences in working memory and attentional control continue to predict memory performance despite extensive learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001728

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Abstract

Individual differences in working memory predict a wide range of cognitive abilities. However, little research has been done on whether working memory continues to predict task performance after repetitive learning. Here, we tested whether working memory ability continued to predict long-term memory (LTM) performance for picture sequences even after participants showed massive learning. In Experiments 1–3, subjects performed a source memory task in which they were presented a sequence of 30 objects shown in one of four quadrants and then were tested on each item’s position. We repeated this procedure for five times in Experiment 1 and 12 times in Experiments 2 and 3. Interestingly, we discovered that individual differences in working memory continually predicted LTM accuracy across all repetitions. In Experiment 4, we replicated the stable working memory demands with word pairs. In Experiment 5, we generalized the stable working memory demands model to attentional control abilities. Together, these results suggest that people, instead of relying less on working memory, optimized their working memory and attentional control throughout learning. 

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Impact Statement

Working memory ability predicts various cognitive abilities. However, whether its predictive power remains after participants repetitively study the test materials remains unknown. Here, in five experiments with visual and verbal materials, we found that individual differences in working memory and attentional control (WMAC) constantly predicted people’s memory performance even after extensive training of the same materials. Our results provided a new understanding of WMAC, in that learning may better tune participants’ attention and working memory toward task demands, instead of eliminating the reliance on attentional control in performing tasks.

Research Byte: Past reflections, present insights: A systematic #review and new empirical research into the #workingmemory capacity (WMC)-#fluidintelligence (#Gf) relationship

Past reflections, present insights: A systematic review and new empirical research into the working memory capacity (WMC)-fluid intelligence (Gf) relationship

Ratko Đokić, Maida Koso-Drljević, Merim Bilalić 

Click here to go to journal

Abstract

According to the capacity account, working memory capacity (WMC) is a causal factor of fluid intelligence (Gf) in that it enables simultaneous activation of multiple relevant information in the aim of reasoning. Consequently, correlation between WMC and Gf should increase as a function of capacity demands of reasoning tasks. Here we systematically review the existing literature on the connection between WMC and Gf. The review reveals conceptual incongruities, a diverse range of analytical approaches, and mixed evidence. While some studies have found a link (e.g., Little et al., 2014), the majority of others did not observe a significant increase in correlation (e.g., Burgoyne et al., 2019; Salthouse, 1993; Unsworth, 2014; Unsworth & Engle, 2005; Wiley et al., 2011). We then test the capacity hypothesis on a much larger, non-Anglo-Saxon culture sample (N = 543). Our WMC measures encompassed Operation, Reading, and Symmetry Span task, whereas Gf was based on items from Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (Raven). We could not confirm the capacity hypothesis either when we employed the analytical approach based on the Raven's item difficulty or when the number of rule tokens required to solve a Raven's item was used. Finally, even the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) and its variant, latent growth curve modeling (LGCM), which provide more “process-pure” latent measures of constructs, as well as an opportunity to control for all relevant interrelations among variables, could not produce support for the capacity account. Consequently, we discuss the limitations of the capacity hypothesis in explaining the WMC-Gf relationship, highlighting both theoretical and methodological challenges, particularly the shortcomings of information processing models in accounting for human cognitive abilities.

Research Byte: A Systematic #Review of #Working#Memory (#Gwm) Applications for #Children with #LearningDifficulties (#LD): Transfer Outcomes and Design Principles

 A Systematic Review of Working Memory Applications for Children with Learning Difficulties: Transfer Outcomes and Design Principles 

by 

Adel Shaban

 1,*, 

Victor Chang

 2, 

Onikepo D. Amodu

 1, 

Mohamed Ramadan Attia

 3 and 

Gomaa Said Mohamed Abdelhamid

 4,5

1

Middlesbrough College, University Centre Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough TS2 1AD, UK

2

Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7UP, UK

3

Department of Educational Technology, Faculty of Specific Education, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt

4

Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt

5

Department of Psychology, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman

*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. 

Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 1260; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14111260

Visit article page where PDF of article can be downloaded

Abstract

Working memory (WM) is a crucial cognitive function, and a deficit in this function is a critical factor in learning difficulties (LDs). As a result, there is growing interest in exploring different approaches to training WM to support students with LDs. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this systematic review aims to identify current computer-based WM training applications and their theoretical foundations, explore their effects on improving WM capacity and other cognitive/academic abilities, and extract design principles for creating an effective WM application for children with LDs. The 22 studies selected for this review provide strong evidence that children with LDs have low WM capacity and that their WM functions can be trained. The findings revealed four commercial WM training applications—COGMED, Jungle, BrainWare Safari, and N-back—that were utilized in 16 studies. However, these studies focused on suggesting different types of WM tasks and examining their effects rather than making those tasks user-friendly or providing practical guidelines for the end-user. To address this gap, the principles of the Human–Computer Interaction, with a focus on usability and user experience as well as relevant cognitive theories, and the design recommendations from the selected studies have been reviewed to extract a set of proposed guidelines. A total of 15 guidelines have been extracted that can be utilized to design WM training programs specifically for children with LDs. 

Keywords: 

cognitive load theory; design principles; learning difficulties (LDs); systematic review; user-centered design; WM training applications; working memory (WM)

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/11/1260#

Research Byte: Revising Baddeley and Hitch’s #workingmemory (#Gwm) 50 years later—relevance to #children and #developmental models.

 EXPRESS: Revisiting Working Memory Fifty Years after Baddeley and Hitch: A Review of Field-specific Conceptualizations, Use and Misuse, and Paths Forward for Studying Children

Dana Miller-Cotto https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0577-4868 dmillerc@berkeley.edu and Rebecca Gordon https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3080-2031View all authors and affiliations

Accepted Manuscripts

https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218241301701

Info about journal pub here.

As trained educational and developmental psychologists who study the role of working memory in educational outcomes, we know the various assumptions made about definitions and measurements of this cognitive ability. Considering the popularity of the Baddeley and Hitch working memory model (1974) in these fields, we raise challenges related to measurement, overlap with executive function, and adopting working memory measurement approaches from adult models. We propose that researchers consider how working memory tasks might tap multiple other abilities. This is problematic in the context of child cognitive development and in understanding which factors explain educational outcomes in children. We recommend giving greater attention to the central executive, acknowledging the overlap between the central executive and executive function in study design, and investigating a developmental model in the context of the broader abilities evoked in measurement. These recommendations may provide a fuller understanding of working memory's mechanistic role in children's learning and development and assist in developing reasonable adjustments for specific aspects of working memory for children who struggle

Research Byte: Examining #WorkingMemory Training for Healthy Adults—A Second-Order #MetaAnalysis—-#CHC #WJV #Gwm

This meta-analytic review suggests some promise for working memory training programs, although for every slightly positive research synthesis there are multiple other syntheses (and position papers) that suggest that working memory training does not transfer to real world settings or is not effective.  I, being an optimist, am not ready to give up on the idea of working memory interventions to improve intellectual performance, given the central role working memory plays in cognition.  There is probably some kind of individual differences X type of treatment effect interaction.  See McGrew et. al. (2023) for recent psychometric network analysis paper that identifies the working memory-attentional control complex (Gwm-AC) as the most likely “target system” for effective intellectual ability interventions.

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How to keep your memory as you age: Annual Review of Psychology

Annual Review of Psychology: Successful Memory Aging. Article link.

Lars Nyberg and Sara Pudas

Abstract

For more than 50 years, psychologists, gerontologists, and, more recently, neuroscientists have considered the possibility of successful aging. How to define successful aging remains debated, but well-preserved age-sensitive cognitive functions, like episodic memory, is an often-suggested criterion. Evidence for successful memory aging comes from cross-sectional and lon-gitudinal studies showing that some older individuals display high and sta-ble levels of performance. Successful memory aging may be accomplished via multiple paths. One path is through brain maintenance, or relative lack of age-related brain pathology. Through another path, successful memory aging can be accomplished despite brain pathology by means of efficient compensatory and strategic processes. Genetic, epigenetic, and lifestyle fac-tors influence memory aging via both paths. Some of these factors can be promoted throughout the life course, which, at the individual as well as the societal level, can positively impact successful memory aging.

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21 factors that can impact working memory: A formative list and taxonomy

An interesting list and logically based taxonomy in need of empirical validation.


Why Is Working Memory Performance Unstable? A Review of 21 Factors
Rachael N. Blasiman, Christopher A. Wasa

Europe's Journal of Psychology, 2018, Vol. 14(1), 188–231, doi:10.5964/ejop.v14i1.1472

Abstract

In this paper, we systematically reviewed twenty-one factors that have been shown to either vary with or influence performance on working memory (WM) tasks. Specifically, we review previous work on the influence of intelligence, gender, age, personality, mental illnesses/ medical conditions, dieting, craving, stress/anxiety, emotion/motivation, stereotype threat, temperature, mindfulness training, practice, bilingualism, musical training, altitude/hypoxia, sleep, exercise, diet, psychoactive substances, and brain stimulation on WM performance. In addition to a review of the literature, we suggest several frameworks for classifying these factors, identify shared mechanisms between several variables, and suggest areas requiring further investigation. This review critically examines the breadth of research investigating WM while synthesizing the results across related subfields in psychology.

Keywords: working memory, individual differences

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Visualization, inductive reasoning, and memory span as components of fluid intelligence: Implications for technology education

File under CHC domains of Gf, Gwm, Gc and STEM

Visualization, inductive reasoning, and memory span as components of fluid intelligence: Implications for technology education. Article link.

Jeffrey Buckleya, Niall Seerya, Donal Cantyc, Lena Gumaelius

International Journal of Educational Research, 90 (2018) 64–77

ABSTRACT

The philosophy and epistemology of technology education are relatively unique as the subject largely focusses on acquiring task specific relevant knowledge rather than having an explicit epistemological discipline boundary. Additionally, there is a paucity of intelligence research in technology education. To support research on learning in technology education, this paper describes two studies which aimed to identify cognitive factors which are components of fluid intelligence. The results identify that a synthesis of visualization, short-term memory span and inductive reasoning can account for approximately 28% to 43% of the variance in fluid intelligence. A theoretical rationale for the importance of these factors in technology education is provided with a discussion for their future consideration in cognitive interventions.


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Research Byte: Differences in mathematical reasoning between typically achieving and gifted children

Differences in mathematical reasoning between typically achieving and gifted children
Derek H. Berg & Pamela A. McDonald (article link)

ABSTRACT

Mathematical giftedness refers to mastery in a specific mathematical domain at an earlier than expected age. The present study examined which cognitive processes accounted for differences in mathematical reasoning between gifted children (MRG) and their typically achieving peers (TA). Naming speed, phonological awareness, short-term memory, executive functioning, and working memory were examined in 51 children aged approximately 7 years. A series of stepwise regression models, using a contrast variable to capture differences in mathematical reasoning between MRG and TA children, were created to examine which cognitive domains accounted for differences in mathematical reasoning. Short-term memory (r2 = .08) and visual-spatial working memory (r2 = .39) emerged as the only cognitive predictors within a model that included gender, age, and fluid intelligence. This model captured all of the variance distinguishing mathematics reasoning between MRG and TA children, explaining an overall contribution of 70% of the variance in mathematical reasoning.

KEYWORDS: Giftedness, mathematical reasoning, working memory, child development


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Possible Gf subprocesses

Interesting conceptual framework for understanding performance on Gf tasks. However, it is Important to note that factor analysis studies have suggested a number of subprocesses that do not necessarily fit in this task-analysis based model.

Signatures of multiple processes contributing to fluid reasoning performance (article link)

Ehsan Shokri-Kojoria and Daniel C. Krawczyk


A R T I C L E I N F O

Keywords: Fluid intelligence Individual differences Multi-process Raven's progressive matrices

A B S T R A C T

We aimed to achieve a better understanding of the cognitive processes of fluid reasoning (or fluid intelligence; Gf), the ability to reason in novel conditions. While fluid reasoning has often been considered a unitary con-struct, multiple cognitive processes are expected to affect fluid reasoning performance. Yet, the contribution of various cognitive processes in fluid reasoning performance remains under-explored. We hypothesized that in-dividual differences in fluid intelligence can be viewed as a composite of individual differences in performance in various processes of Gf. Change detection, rule verification, and rule generation were the three processes-of-interest that were additively recruited in a novel visuospatial reasoning task. We observed decreases in accuracy and increases in response time as the processing requirements increased across task conditions. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses showed that individual differences in the likelihood of success and speed of each of these processes, accounted for different aspects of individual differences in accuracy and response time in fluid reasoning performance, as measured by Raven's Progressive Matrices. Change detection was a significant contributor to performance in problems with higher visuospatial demand, however, rule verification and rule generation consistently contributed to performance for all problem types. Our findings support the position that individual differences in fluid intelligence emerge as a composite of performance on separable cognitive op-erations, with rule processing being important for differentiating performance on high difficulty problem.

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Research Byte: Multicomponent causal model of vocabulary (lexical knowledge) development

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Research Byte: Visual-spatial working memory important for math achievement

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David Geary does some of the best math learning research availble. Good stuff.




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Research Byte: A closer look at who "chokes under pressure" - importance of attentional control (AC)

Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition

Volume 5, Issue 4, December 2016, Pages 470–477

Working Memory in the Wild: Applied Research in Working Memory

A Closer Look at Who “Chokes Under Pressure” ^{☆ ☆}

• Jason R. Sattizahn^a, ,
• Jason S. Moser^b,
• Sian L. Beilock^a

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Highlights

•

High pressure settings compromise working memory and decrease cognitive performance.

•

Those with higher working memory show greatest pressure-induced cognitive deficits.

•

Attentional control alters relation of working memory to performance under pressure.

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Previous research has shown that the higher one's working memory capacity, the more likely his/her performance is to be negatively impacted by performance pressure. In the current research we examined potential explanations for this finding by assessing the relation between pressure-induced performance deficits (i.e. “choking under pressure”) in math-based problem solving and individual differences in both working memory (as assessed via complex span tasks) and attentional control (as assessed via two measures from an Eriksen Flanker task). We find higher working memory only relates to “choking under pressure” when individuals were low in attentional control. These results further elucidate the mechanism by which high-pressure scenarios can lead to errors in performance and carry implications for developing effective intervention strategies to prevent poor performance in high-stakes situations.

What about executive functions and CHC theory? New research for discussion

What about executive functions and CHC theory: New research for discussion from Kevin McGrew