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Accepted: 15 April 2023 / Published online: 8 May 2023
© The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2023
Abstract
The nature of working memory capacity (WMC) has been a highly contested topic among cognitive scientists. Some advocate for the discrete nature of this construct, fixed to a set number of independent slots, each capable of storing a single chunk of bound information. Others advocate for a continuous limit, guided by a pool of immediately available resources spent across the to-be-remembered items. To understand the nature of WMC, it was first essential to separate capacity from other factors, such as performance consistency, which may impact overall WM performance. Recent work by Schor et al., (2020, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 27[5], 1006-1013) has provided a method for separating these constructs within a single visual array task. The present study used this statistical model to extract partial information, defined as accurate recall of a correct color, but not location, at a rate greater than expected through guessing. The successful memory of this information would demonstrate that capacity does not rely on the existence of empty slots, which discrete slot model advocates argue, are necessary for successful storage and recall of items. The present study found that participants were able to successfully recall partial information at a rate significantly greater than chance, but not beyond the individual working memory capacity limit. These findings help provide additional support for the discrete resource slot model, while simultaneously casting doubt on its strong object slot model alternative.
Keywords Working memory capacity · Discrete slot model · Continuous resource model · Models of working memory
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Working memory (WM) has been defined as a system, or a set of processes, which makes mental representations temporarily available for use in higher-level thoughts and actions (Oberauer et al., 2018). This definition construes WM as a complex cognitive system whose functioning is guided by the interaction of both memory and attention constructs (Shipstead et al., 2014, 2015; Unsworth et al., 2014). Of particular interest are individual differences in WM performance, which are typically attributed to two primary sources.
The first of these sources is scope of attention (SA), which reflects the individual variation in the storage capacity of WM (Cowan et al., 2005)....