The DOI matches its Crossref record; 9 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A central capacity limit to the simultaneous storage of visual and auditory arrays in working memory.
Open accessAbstract
If working memory is limited by central capacity (e.g., the focus of attention; N. Cowan, 2001), then storage limits for information in a single modality should apply also to the simultaneous storage of information from different modalities. The authors investigated this by combining a visual-array comparison task with a novel auditory-array comparison task in 5 experiments. Participants were to remember only the visual, only the auditory (unimodal memory conditions), or both arrays (bimodal memory conditions). Experiments 1 and 2 showed significant dual-task tradeoffs for visual but not for auditory capacity. In Experiments 3-5, the authors eliminated modality-specific memory by using postperceptual masks. Dual-task costs occurred for both modalities, and the number of auditory and visual items remembered together was no more than the higher of the unimodal capacities (visual: 3-4 items). The findings suggest a central capacity supplemented by modality- or code-specific storage and point to avenues for further research on the role of processing in central storage.
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Cites
The attention system of the human brain
Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.ne.13.030190.000325 · Cited by 8,070 · cited 1×
“It is not yet clear if these parietal areas are related to the seat of attention, but Cowan (1995, 2005a) reviewed evidence that they are (e.g., the evidence on a distinction between anterior and posterior attention systems discussed by Posner & Peterson, 1990).”
BackgroundThe episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?
Baddeley, A. (2000) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01538-2 · Cited by 7,359 · cited 6×
“Similarly, Baddeley (2000, 2001) could account for the same findings designating modality-specific buffers as the ones vulnerable to masking and proposing that the episodic buffer is subject to a tradeoff between items regardless of the modality, not unreasonable assumptions given that framework.”
BackgroundInfluentialThe magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity
Cowan, N. (2001) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x01003922 · Cited by 6,779
Self-citationThe information available in brief visual presentations
Sperling, G. (1960) · Psychological Monographs: General and Applied · doi:10.1037/h0093759 · Cited by 4,042
Kane, M. J., Hambrick, D. Z., Tuholski, S. W., Wilhelm, O., Payne, T. W., & Engle, R. W. (2004) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.133.2.189 · Cited by 1,679
Working Memory: The Multiple-Component Model
Baddeley, A. D., & Logie, R. H. (1999) · Models of Working Memory · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139174909.005 · Cited by 1,374 · cited 1×
“The theory of Cowan (1988, 2001, 2005a) includes attention as a storage device but similar results might be achieved if attention is used only as a processor, as in the central executive function of Baddeley (1986) or Baddeley and Logie (1999).”
BackgroundMiyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Rettinger, D. A., Shah, P., & Hegarty, M. (2001) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.130.4.621 · Cited by 1,139
Is the binding of visual features in working memory resource-demanding?
Allen, R. J., Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (2006) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.135.2.298 · Cited by 499
Constant Capacity in an Immediate Serial-Recall Task: A Logical Sequel to Miller (1956)
Cowan, N., Chen, Z., & Rouder, J. N. (2004) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00732.x · Cited by 129
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Cited by
Chapter 20 What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory?
Cowan, N. (2008) · Progress in Brain Research · doi:10.1016/s0079-6123(07)00020-9 · Cited by 1,394
Self-citationThe Magical Mystery Four: How Is Working Memory Capacity Limited, and Why?
Cowan, N. (2010) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721409359277 · Cited by 1,255
Self-citationWorking memory and attention - a conceptual analysis and review
Oberauer, K. (2019) · Journal of Cognition · doi:10.5334/joc.58 · Cited by 634
Modeling working memory: An interference model of complex span
Oberauer, K., Lewandowsky, S., Farrell, S., Jarrold, C., & Greaves, M. (2012) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-012-0272-4 · Cited by 377
How to measure working memory capacity in the change detection paradigm
Rouder, J. N., Morey, R. D., Morey, C. C., & Cowan, N. (2011) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-011-0055-3 · Cited by 334
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Metadata
- Authors
- Saults, J. S., & Cowan, N.
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
- Published
- 2007
- Volume
- 136
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 663-684
- ISSN
- 0096-3445 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-2222
- OpenAlex
- W2128988282
- Cited by
- 251
- References
- 9
- FWCI
- 11.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (R01 HD-21338)
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