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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
10:38
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
The nature and position of processing determines why forgetting occurs in working memory tasks
Christopher Jarrold1, Helen Tam, Alan D Baddeley
1University of Bristol, Bristol, England. c.jarrold@bristol.ac.uk
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|December 21, 2010
Summary
Verbal processing in working memory causes more forgetting than visuospatial processing. This effect is limited to items presented before processing, impacting primary memory retrieval.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Memory
- Working Memory
Background:
- Working memory capacity is crucial for cognitive tasks.
- Distracting processing can interfere with memory retention.
- Understanding the differential impact of processing types is key.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how verbal versus visuospatial processing affects memory.
- To examine the role of processing timing (before vs. after item presentation).
- To explore the mechanisms of forgetting in working memory.
Main Methods:
- A Brown-Peterson-like task was employed.
- Participants performed verbal or visuospatial processing on stimuli.
- Lists of words were to-be-remembered, with varying numbers presented before/after processing.
Main Results:
- Verbal processing led to significantly greater forgetting than visuospatial processing.
- Forgetting was primarily observed for items presented *before* the processing interval.
- Temporal isolation effects were more pronounced in the verbal processing group.
Conclusions:
- Working memory can hold limited items during processing unless rehearsal is blocked.
- Interference from verbal processing impacts primary memory, necessitating secondary memory retrieval.
- The nature and timing of distracting tasks differentially affect memory performance.
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