Complex Span Tasks in Working Memory Training
Complex Span Task
Description: Complex span tasks involve remembering a sequence of items while performing a secondary processing task between item presentations. These tasks are designed to assess both storage and processing components of working memory simultaneously.
Example study: Chein and Morrison (2010) used a complex span task training regimen that included verbal and spatial complex span tasks. They found improvements in working memory capacity and transfer to reading comprehension.
Automated Operation Span
Description: In this task, participants solve math problems while remembering unrelated letters presented between each problem. This automated version ensures standardized administration and scoring, reducing experimenter bias and increasing reliability.
Example study: Foster et al. (2017) employed automated operation span as part of a working memory training battery. They found improvements on the trained tasks but limited transfer to untrained tasks.
Automated Reading Span
Description: This task requires participants to read sentences and judge their semantic accuracy while remembering unrelated letters presented between sentences. It assesses both verbal processing and storage aspects of working memory.
Example study: Harrison et al. (2013) used automated reading span in a complex span training study. They found improvements in working memory capacity and some evidence of transfer to fluid intelligence measures.
Automated Symmetry Span
Description: In this task, participants judge the symmetry of shapes while remembering the locations of red squares in a grid presented between symmetry judgments. This task assesses spatial working memory capacity alongside visual processing.
Example study: Redick et al. (2013) included automated symmetry span in a working memory training study comparing complex span and n-back training. They found improvements on trained tasks but no evidence of transfer to measures of fluid intelligence or other cognitive abilities.
References
Chein, J. M., & Morrison, A. B. (2010). Expanding the mind’s workspace: Training and transfer effects with a complex working memory span task. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 17(2), 193-199.
Foster, J. L., Harrison, T. L., Hicks, K. L., Draheim, C., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2017). Do the effects of working memory training depend on baseline ability level? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 43(11), 1677-1689.
Harrison, T. L., Shipstead, Z., Hicks, K. L., Hambrick, D. Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2013). Working memory training may increase working memory capacity but not fluid intelligence. Psychological Science, 24(12), 2409-2419.
Redick, T. S., Shipstead, Z., Harrison, T. L., Hicks, K. L., Fried, D. E., Hambrick, D. Z., Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2013). No evidence of intelligence improvement after working memory training: A randomized, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(2), 359-379.