A psychologist administers a test where a participant must listen to a series of random numbers and immediately repeat them in the same order. The psychologist records the longest sequence the participant can correctly recall. According to the three-stratum model of cognitive abilities, what does this specific task directly measure?

Working memory capacity is a psychological characteristic that refers to an individual's ability to simultaneously hold and process multiple pieces of information in their mind. In cognitive psychology, this capacity can be quantified using systematic measurement procedures.

Working Memory Capacity

Narrow abilities form the bottom and most specific level of the CHC hierarchy. These distinct cognitive skills are the only ones that can be measured directly. For example, the broad ability of short-term memory is composed of narrow abilities like memory span and working memory capacity.

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The CHC theory organizes cognitive skills into three tiers: general intelligence at the top, broad abilities in the middle, and narrow abilities at the bottom. Although only the narrow abilities are directly measurable, they are integrated within the higher-level abilities.

Hierarchical Structure of CHC Theory

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Positioned at the middle level of the CHC hierarchy, broad abilities represent general cognitive functions. Examples of these abilities include fluid reasoning, short-term memory, and processing speed.

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