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Katz Dissertation Final Format.pdf (1.42 MB)

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The Fractionation of Working Memory

Katz, David P
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559732086225506

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Psychology.
Working Memory (WM) plays a large role in higher order cognitive functioning. Previous research has shown that it is highly related to fluid intelligence, reasoning ability, and academic achievement (Conway, Cowan, Bunting, Therriault, & Minkoff, 2002; Conway, Getz, Macnamara, & Engel de Abreu, 2011). Consequently, as a construct, WM has been widely included in psychological research. However, there is still no consensus on the operational definition of WM and different theories of WM are still being proposed and tested. Currently, WM is generally considered to be a cognitive system with a global component that interacts with a system of domain specific subcomponents. As a result, there are a multitude of tasks that are used as acceptable measures of WM, despite evidence that some of these tasks do not correlate strongly enough to be considered measures of the same construct. This research examines the strength of the relationship between 3 common types of WM measures, maintenance and manipulation, maintenance and interference, and updating, using Structural Equation Modeling. The model that had all 9 WM measures on a single WM factor fit the data well, while the model that separated the measures onto three distinct factors that correspond to the task’s paradigm specific demands did not fit the data. However, the best fitting model for the data was a hierarchical model which was applied in post-hoc analyses with a second order latent factor for broad working memory ability.
Lee Thompson, Ph.D (Committee Chair)
Brooke Macnamara, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Robert Greene, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Jessica Kelley-Moore, Ph.D (Committee Member)
58 p.
Cognitive Psychology; Psychological Tests; Psychology
working memory; maintenance; intelligence; span tasks; working memory capacity

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Katz, D. P. (2019). The Fractionation of Working Memory [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559732086225506

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Katz, David. The Fractionation of Working Memory. 2019. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559732086225506.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Katz, David. "The Fractionation of Working Memory." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559732086225506

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1559732086225506
115
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.