TY  - JOUR
A1  - Oberauer, Klaus
A1  - Kliegl, Reinhold
T1  - A formal model of capacity limits in working memory
JF  - Journal of Memory and Language
N2  - A mathematical model of working-memory capacity limits is proposed on the key assumption of mutual interference between items in working memory. Interference is assumed to arise from overwriting of features shared by these items. The model was fit to time-accuracy data of memory-updating tasks from four experiments using nonlinear mixed effect (NLME) models as a framework. The model gave a good account of the data from a numerical and a spatial task version. The performance pattern in a combination of numerical and spatial updating could be explained by variations in the interference parameter: assuming less feature overlap between contents from different domains than between contents from the same domain, the model can account for double dissociations of content domains in dual-task experiments. Experiment 3 extended this idea to similarity within the verbal domain. The decline of memory accuracy with increasing memory load was steeper with phonologically similar than with dissimilar material, although processing speed was faster for the similar material. The model captured the similarity effects with a higher estimated interference parameter for the similar than for the dissimilar condition. The results are difficult to explain with alternative models, in particular models incorporating time-based decay and models assuming limited resource pools.
KW  - working memory
KW  - interference
KW  - capacity
KW  - mathematical model
KW  - non-linear mixed effects
Y1  - 2006
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0749596X
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2006.08.009
SN  - 0749-596X
VL  - 55
IS  - 4
SP  - 601
EP  - 626
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - THES
A1  - Vockenberg, Kerstin
T1  - Updating of representations in working memory
T1  - Aktualisierung von Arbeitsgedächtnisrepräsentationen
N2  - The limited capacity of working memory forces people to update its contents continuously. Two aspects of the updating process were investigated in the present experimental series. The first series concerned the question if it is possible to update several representations in parallel. Similar results were obtained for the updating of object features as well as for the updating of whole objects, participants were able to update representations in parallel. The second experimental series addressed the question if working memory representations which were replaced in an updating disappear directly or interfere with the new representations. Evidence for the existence of old representations was found under working memory conditions and under conditions exceeding working memory capacity. These results contradict the hypothesis that working memory contents are protected from proactive interference of long-term memory contents.
N2  - Aufgrund der begrenzten Kapazität des Arbeitsgedächtnisses müssen seine Inhalte ständig aktualisiert werden. Zwei Aspekte des Aktualisierungsprozesses wurden in Experimentalserien untersucht. Die erste Serie betraf die Frage, ob es möglich ist, mehrere Repräsentationen gleichzeitig zu aktualisieren. Ähnliche Ergebnisse ergaben sich sowohl für das Aktualisieren von Objektmerkmalen als auch für das Aktualisieren von ganzen Objekten, die Versuchsteilnehmer konnten Repräsentationen gleichzeitig aktualisieren. In der zweiten Experimentalserie wurde die Frage untersucht, ob Arbeitsgedächtnisrepräsentationen, die bei einer Aktualisierung ersetzt worden sind, sofort verschwinden oder mit den neuen Repräsentationen interferieren. Evidenz für das Vorhandensein alter Repräsentationen wurde unter Arbeitsgedächtnisbedingungen und unter Bedingungen, bei denen die Arbeitsgedächtniskapazität überschritten wird, gefunden. Diese Ergebnisse widersprechen der Hypothese, dass Arbeitsgedächtnisinhalte vor proaktiver Interferenz aus dem Langzeitgedächtnis geschützt sind.
KW  - Aktualisierung
KW  - Arbeitsgedächtnis
KW  - proaktive Interferenz
KW  - parallele Aktualisierung
KW  - updating
KW  - working memory
KW  - proactive interference
KW  - parallel updating
Y1  - 2006
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-11767
ER  -