A researcher reads a list of 10 random, unrelated words to a participant and immediately asks them to recall as many as possible. Based on contemporary findings regarding the capacity for holding and manipulating information for immediate use, what is the most probable outcome for a typical adult?

Using your knowledge of the limits of mental processing, explain the most likely reason your friend was unable to recall all eight items.

Grocery List Memory Challenge

The backward digit span task is a highly structured laboratory procedure used as a behavioral measure of working memory capacity. In this task, a researcher reads a sequence of digits to a participant, who must then repeat the sequence in reverse order. The length of the longest correctly recalled sequence serves as the operational definition of their working memory capacity.

Backward Digit Span Task

In cognitive psychology, how is 'working memory capacity' primarily defined?

In cognitive psychology, how is 'working memory capacity' defined?

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.

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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

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Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can hold information temporarily. Working memory is important for reasoning, learning and comprehension. Some of the manipulation of information takes place in working memory

Working Memory

- Increased ability to concentrate
- Increased cognitive flexibility
- Increased focus
- Enhanced working memory capacity
- Changed relationship with one's thoughts

Cognitive Goals and Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation

Emotion regulation skills are developed through the promotion of metacognitive awareness as the individual disengages from cognitive actions, decreases rumination, and working memory capacity increases that allow for enhanced attentional deployment.

How Emotion Regulation is Developed Through Mindfulness Meditation

Based on a 1956 review of memory research, psychologist George Miller concluded that the capacity of short-term memory is limited to approximately seven items, plus or minus two. This range, from 5 to 9 items, is often referred to as the 'magic number' in psychology.

The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two

Psychometrics is the specific field of psychological measurement. It involves applying systematic procedures to assign scores to individuals, ensuring that these scores accurately represent psychological characteristics of interest, such as cognitive abilities or clinical symptoms.

Psychometrics

Davis, D. M., & Hayes, J. A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy, 48(2), 198–208. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022062

What are the benefits of mindfulness

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

https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/psychmethods4e/

KPU Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition

- The phonological loop
- Visuospatial sketch pad
- The central executive 
- Episodic buffer

Parts of working memory (Baddeley's model)

A curve that displays how well respondents recall words depending on how long ago they were displayed.

Serial position curve 

Taking information from long term memory and transferring it to working memory.

Retrieval

In order to increase effectiveness, cognitive load theory should be considered during instructional design for online learning including MOOCs. Cognitive load refers to the amount of working memory an individual is using while learning information. Intrinsic cognitive load is the natural complexity of the material that is being learned. Extrinsic load is complexity of learning caused by ineffective instructional design. The goal of cognitive load theory is to reduce extrinsic load experienced by students. 

Cognitive Load Theory

The process of acquiring information and sending it to long term memory (WM to LTM).

Encoding

Working Memory Capacity

There is converging functional neuroimaging evidence for the involvement of the sustained activity in the prefrontal cortex underlying the process of working memory during the delay period in a working memory task. And due to the fact that the PFC has a lot of cortico-cortico connections and coritco-subcortico connections, it might be the case that these different connections probably mediate different component processes of working memory. It has been believed for example the the cortical network might mediate the maintenance of goals, while the subcortical networks mediates response selection and motor control

The Neural Basis of Working Memory

Neuromodulatory brainstem projections affects our working memory cognition

Working Memory & Neuromodulatory Systems

The left hemisphere deals with working memory, concentration, executive planning, and positive emotions. 

Left Hemisphere of Frontal Lobe

People who practice mindfulness have shown to be more attentive, such as with attentional functioning.

Mindfulness and Focus

After learning and utilizing the skill of self-observation during mindfulness practices, there is a deactivation of  pathways in the brain that were created by prior learning. In turn, this enables the incorporation of input in the present moment to be received in a new way. Additionally, mindfulness meditation can lead to a faster recovery after facing anxiety inducing stimuli. 

Mindfulness and Cognitive flexibility 

Instead of changing the thoughts in the individual's mind, mindfulness meditation aims to separate the person from the constant flow of thoughts happening in their head. As a result, the individual no longer experiences repetitive, ruminating thoughts.

Changing How the Individual Relates to their Thoughts

Rumination happens when a person spends a significant amount of time thinking and worrying about a problem. The thought that is ruminated feeds itself continuously, so the person becomes stuck in a constant cycle of worry that eventually distorts their perception of the reality of the situation.

Rumination

Attentional deployment is a type of emotional regulation strategy in which a person attempts to alter their emotional state by shifting their attention in a particular way as the situation arises. 

Attentional Deployment

Metacognitive awareness is the acknowledgement that one's thoughts are only thoughts, and they may not be facts. When used as a definition of mindfulness, it is called mindful metacognition, and conceptualizes mindfulness as an information processing style.

Mindful Metacognition/Metacognitive Awareness

A research participant is asked to listen to a randomly generated list of 15 single-digit numbers and then immediately repeat them back in the same order. Based on the generally accepted capacity of short-term memory, which of the following outcomes is most probable?

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Related

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