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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
08:45

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

How verbal memory loads consume attention.

Zhijian Chen1, Nelson Cowan

  • 1University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA. cowann@missouri.edu

Memory & Cognition
|August 15, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Working memory requires attention for verbal recall, challenging the idea of passive rehearsal. Even with auditory cues, high memory loads impair attention-demanding tasks.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Memory

Background:

  • Traditional working memory models assume verbal recall relies on covert rehearsal with minimal attention.
  • This assumption suggests that attention is not a critical component for maintaining verbal information during immediate recall.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of attention in verbal working memory.
  • To challenge the traditional assumption that verbal recall does not heavily rely on attention.

Main Methods:

  • Participants performed a speeded, nonverbal choice reaction time (CRT) task after each digit in a to-be-recalled list.
  • Working memory load was manipulated to assess its impact on the CRT task performance.

Main Results:

  • Performance on the speeded CRT task significantly decreased as the working memory load increased beyond a few items.
  • This impairment in the CRT task was linked to attention-demanding aspects of working memory.
  • The presence of an auditory memory trace did not mitigate the CRT task impairment.

Conclusions:

  • Working memory for verbal items necessitates attention-demanding refreshing, even during covert rehearsal.
  • Attention is a crucial resource for maintaining verbal information in working memory, contrary to traditional assumptions.
  • The findings highlight the interplay between attention and verbal processing in working memory.