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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

When does a good working memory counteract proactive interference? Surprising evidence from a probe recognition task.

Nelson Cowan1, J Scott Saults1

  • 1Psychological Sciences Department.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|March 21, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Individuals with high working memory span do not better overcome proactive interference (PI). Instead, high-span individuals show reaction time advantages on shorter lists, suggesting finesse, not PI mitigation, drives performance.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Proactive interference (PI) is a memory phenomenon where prior learning hinders new learning.
  • High working memory (WM) capacity is hypothesized to aid in overcoming PI.
  • Previous research suggests WM span influences cognitive control and interference resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether individuals with high working memory span exhibit reduced proactive interference in a word-list recognition task.
  • To explore the relationship between working memory capacity and the ability to inhibit irrelevant information from prior trials.

Main Methods:

  • Word-list probe recognition task was employed.
  • Participants were divided into high and low working memory span groups.
  • Ex-gaussian analysis of reaction times was used to assess performance differences.
  • Proactive interference (PI) levels were measured across different list lengths.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in proactive interference (PI) were found between high and low working memory span groups.
  • High-span individuals demonstrated reaction time advantages specifically for shorter word lists (3-4 items).
  • This speed advantage for high-span individuals disappeared with longer word lists (6-8 items).

Conclusions:

  • Working memory span does not appear to confer an advantage in overcoming proactive interference (PI).
  • Observed reaction time benefits in high-span individuals may stem from strategic processing or "finesse" on less demanding trials.
  • Findings challenge the notion that high working memory capacity primarily functions to mitigate interference from previous trials.