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12 - Measuring Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity and Attention Control and Their Contribution to Language Comprehension

from Part II - Models and Measures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2022

By
Alexander P. Burgoyne ,
Jessie D. Martin ,
Cody A. Mashburn ,
Jason S. Tsukahara ,
Christopher Draheim  and
Randall W. Engle
Edited by
John W. Schwieter  and
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
John W. Schwieter
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
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Summary

In this chapter, we discuss the measurement of working memory capacity and attention control. We begin by examining the origins of complex span measures of working memory capacity, which were created to better understand the cognitive processes underpinning language comprehension. We then review evidence for the executive attention theory of working memory, which places attention control at the center of individual differences in working memory capacity and fluid intelligence. Next, we describe the relationship between working memory capacity, attention control, and language comprehension, and discuss how maintenance and disengagement – two functions supported by the control of attention – contribute to performance across a range of cognitive tasks. We then identify factors that threaten the construct and criterion validity of measures of working memory capacity and attention control and detail the steps our laboratory has taken to refine these measures. We close by providing practical recommendations and resources to researchers who wish to use our new measures of working memory capacity and attention control in their work.

Keywords

Working memory capacityattention controllanguagepsychometricsmeasurement
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Working Memory and Language , pp. 247 - 272
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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