The digit span test has long been used in the study and evaluation of memory processes in children. The study of memory processes in bilingual children has received only limited attention. The purpose of the present study was to examine the influences of bilingual interference, English proficiency, and item familiarity on a task of short-term memory. One-hundred nineteen third grade subjects were assigned to one of four groups based on their language background and ethnicity. Subjects were administered the Digit Span subtest from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised in English as well as a test of general ability, the Coloured Progressive Matrices, and a reaction time measure, item identification. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and multiple regression procedures. Results showed that Mexican-American bilingual subjects who were proficient in English performed comparably to monolingual Mexican-American subjects. These results were discussed in terms of their support for the dual storage and independence positions of bilingual memory. Results of the data analysis also revealed a small but significant direct causal link between English proficiency level and digit span. This finding was discussed in terms of its support for the use of digit span measures with bilingual Mexican-American children providing the students have been determined to be proficient in English on a standardized measure. A final finding of the present study concerned the absence of a role for item familiarity as an intervening variable between English proficiency level and digit span. Results showed a direct association between English proficiency level and reaction time, but no significant association between reaction time and digit span. Implications of the current findings were discussed in relation to relevant theory and prior research findings.

Memory binding is a cognitive process that enables complex objects to be stored or retrieved coherently during perception, learning, or action. Binding functions are aimed at reducing the misattribution of the features of objects in crowded and changing sensory contexts, ensuring accurate representation in visual working memory. Binding is a relatively new concept in working memory research. However, as an integrative function it provides a rich context in which to investigate the mechanisms underlying memory deterioration. In this PhD project, a range of experimental temporary binding paradigms were used to investigate whether some of the memory impairments observed in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease could be accounted for by deficits in this memory function. A set of neuropsychological tasks were used to investigate binding operations across memory domains (i.e., verbal and nonverbal), sensory modalities (i.e., visual and auditory), types of information (e.g., objects and colours), and retrieval processes (i.e., recognition and recall) in healthy individuals, Alzheimer’s Disease patients and other clinical populations. The results suggest that the efficiency of short-term memory to store bound complex events depends on the nature of the information presented (e.g., type of information bound into objects) (Chapter 2). Short-term memory seems to be equipped with relatively separate mechanisms to store integrated objects and individual features (Chapter 4). It was also observed that the binding properties of short-term memory apply to healthy young and older people, and are functions which are preserved in the elderly (Chapter 3). In two additional experimental chapters (5 and 6) the preserved binding abilities of older people were compared with temporary binding in Alzheimer’s Disease. The latter group showed a very large impairment in binding that was distinct from their impairments in memory for individual features. These findings suggest that memory binding tasks could reliably separate the cognitive changes in normal ageing from those linked with Alzheimer’ Disease. Moreover, the results of Chapter 7 suggested that memory binding tasks may detect memory changes in people that will develop Alzheimer’ Disease (i.e., asymptomatic carriers of the gene defect E280A of the Preseniline-1 gene) almost 10 years before the average age of onset. These results are relevant to our understanding of short-term memory and to the memory models currently available. Finally, it is suggested that the constructs of memory binding may increase the sensitivity of current assessment procedures for people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

This study set out to investigate the visuo-spatial component of Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) Working Memory framework. The development of our understanding of this component has been less dramatic than that of its verbal counterpart, the Articulatory Loop. The primary reason for this can be said to be the lack of techniques for investigation (Logie, 1986). This thesis presents one attempt to try to explore the nature of this code and to reveal possible new techniques of investigation. The following are three possible areas of investigation : 1. Is the system spatially or visually based? 2. Does movement have a role in the system? 3. How is information stored? The latter two issues are investigated here. Experiments 1-4 set out to explore the possibility that movement may be involved in the code. These experiments supported the idea that movement has a role to play in spatial coding and more specifically demonstrated that arm movements which are not compatible with the presentation of spatial material can cause disruption. In addition it was shown that when movement identical to that involved in presentation is encouraged at recall subjects show marked improvement in performance. Together these results very strongly suggest that movement should be given prominent reference in the definition of spatial coding and in the description of the visuo-spatial slave system. Another development that came out of these experiments relates to the lack of investigative techniques in the field of visuo-spatial short term memory. The fact that movement has been shown to be important suggests that techniques employed to investigate kinaesthetic memory will aid us in exploring visuo-spatial coding. The second issue in this thesis explored further the nature of the internal code. Research into the nature of coding in visuo-spatial memory had previously argued for the presence of a sequential component. Experiments 1-4 in this thesis had shown that movement had an important role to play in coding. The fact that movement by its very nature would appear to be sequential suggested that there was a strong sequential element in coding within visuo-spatial memory. However, concern was expressed that the materials and presentation format used may have led to sequential coding. This was first explored in experiments 5-8. The results supported the view that the material and presentation format used had led to sequential coding. This was further explored by Experiments 9 and 10 which illustrated that while it may be important under certain conditions, sequentiality is not always a dominant element in coding within the Visuo-Spatial Sketch Pad. This thesis has explored two of the central issues currently interesting theorists of Working Memory and has put forward suggestions for techniques which may in the future help us to advance our knowledge of the visuo-spatial component of the Working Memory framework.

It is well known that crystallized measures of intelligence are highly susceptible to educational, resource, language and socio-economic influences, and that the implications of using these kinds of measures are manifold affecting school and university entrance as well as employment opportunities. In South Africa, wherein tests are regarded with suspicion as a consequence of test misuse during the Apartheid era, there is an urgent need for the development of measures which are resilient to these influences. In answer to this, working memory measures have been identified as possible measures which minimize these biases. Consequently the following study investigated whether working memory tests were less susceptible to socioeconomic influences than the more traditional, crystallized measures of vocabulary and non-verbal IQ in a volunteer sample of 60 grade one learners from schools identified as high and low in socioeconomic status. The results demonstrated that working memory measures were consistently less affected by socio-economic status as compared to the traditional vocabulary and non-verbal IQ measures. However, socioeconomic status and language were found to be so closely correlated that it is not clear whether test performance in the vocabulary measures, was related one or both of these variables. In light of the fact that this study was correlational in nature, it is recommended that future studies focus on limiting the impact of extraneous variables to better understand the impact of socioeconomic status on test performance. Furthermore future studies should test children in their home language to avoid language contamination effects.

Lee Park Keong. / 據手稿本影印. / Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學硏究院教育學部. / Ju shou gao ben ying yin. / Includes bibliographical references: leaves 183-188. / Lee Park Keong. / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue yan jiu yuan jiao yu xue bu. / Chapter 第一章 --- 導言 / Chapter 一、 --- 問題說明 --- p.1 / Chapter 二、 --- 有關文獻 --- p.3 / Chapter 三、 --- 研究問題 --- p.9 / Chapter 四、 --- 假設 --- p.14 / Chapter 第二章 --- 研究方法 / Chapter 一、 --- 研究對象與取樣 --- p.17 / Chapter 二、 --- 研究工具 --- p.18 / Chapter 三、 --- 研究設計 --- p.26 / Chapter 四、 --- 資料整理與分析 --- p.30 / Chapter 五、 --- 實驗程序的控制 --- p.31 / Chapter 第三章 --- 結果與討論 / Chapter 一、 --- 實驗一的結果與討論 --- p.35 / Chapter 二、 --- 實驗二的結果與討論 --- p.61 / Chapter 三、 --- 實驗三的結果與討論 --- p.78 / Chapter 四、 --- 其他結果與討論 --- p.83 / Chapter 第四章 --- 摘要檢討與建議 / Chapter 一、 --- 摘要 --- p.99 / Chapter 二、 --- 檢討 --- p.101 / Chapter 三、 --- 建議 --- p.104 / Chapter 第五章 --- 附錄 / Chapter 一、 --- 註釋 --- p.108 / Chapter 二、 --- 表目 --- p.109 / Chapter 三、 --- 實驗所用材料 --- p.111 / Chapter 四、 --- 實驗所得數據 --- p.145 / Chapter 五、 --- 數據圖 --- p.175 / Chapter 六、 --- 參考書目 --- p.183

A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social and Psychological Research by Coursework and Research Report in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, March 2017 / Working memory (WM) is an executive function that may promote resilience by enabling individuals to generate novel solutions in adverse situations. Research regarding the relationship between these constructs is limited. It is particularly unclear whether, and how, WM may promote resilience in the South African context. This study thus used a mixed method concurrent triangulation design to quantitatively investigate whether WM is related to resilience; and to qualitatively investigate how WM processes feature in participants’ experiences of resilience, and how this is influenced by socio-cultural factors. Thirty-eight young Black South African adults from disadvantaged backgrounds (whose WM had been assessed in a pre-existing study) completed a demographic questionnaire and the Resilience Research Centre-Adult Resilience Measure in person or online. For the qualitative phase, 14 of these participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Quantitative findings were equivocal, but primarily non-significant. Qualitative findings indicated that WM processes featured in participants’ accounts of resilience-promoting resources, but that this was shaped by socio-cultural resources accessible to participants. Working memory also featured as one amongst many of the resilience-promoting resources accessible to participants. The disparity between the quantitative and qualitative findings may be due to the individualistic nature of the quantitative WM measure used. Findings are interpreted in relation to existing literature regarding cognitive functioning and resilience. Implications for understanding and promoting the resilience of Black South African young adults are discussed. / XL2018

Previous work has demonstrated that infant visual short-term memory (VSTM) capacity increases dramatically between 6 and 10 months of life (Ross-Sheehy, S., Oakes, L. M., & Luck, S. J. (2003). The development of visual short-term memory capacity in infants. Child Development, 74, 1807-1822). However, it is unclear if this increase is a function of improving memory abilities, or alternatively, if it is a function of improving attentional abilities. Moreover, it is currently unknown if infants, like adults, can use attention to form stable VSTM representations in situations where they would otherwise fail. Four experiments explored the relationship between visual attention and VSTM in 5.5- and 10-month-old infants. Results indicated that 1) 10-month-old infants are able to use attention to selectively encode items into VSTM, 2) this ability does not appear to be present in younger infants, 3) this ability does not appear to interact with the complexity of the test array, and 4) attentional facilitation requires a relatively salient cue. Taken together, these results are the first to demonstrate that infant VSTM representations can be mediated by visual attention, and that this mediation relies on relatively well-developed visual attention mechanisms.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-104). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Exploring the word length effect from the perspective of information density, the current research extended previous findings on cross-linguistic differences in STM capacity with the development of a new strategy that has the potential to double ones digit span with minimal learning and a much shorter training period. Experiments have shown promising results and responses to training differed across language groups. The underlying mechanisms are explored and discussed in relation to strategy usage, capacity estimates and optimization of language systems.