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Working memory, attention control, and the N-back task: a question of construct validity
Open accessAbstract
The N-back task requires participants to decide whether each stimulus in a sequence matches the one that appeared n items ago. Although N-back has become a standard "executive" working memory (WM) measure in cognitive neuroscience, it has been subjected to few behavioral tests of construct validity. A combined experimental- correlational study tested the attention-control demands of verbal 2- and 3-back tasks by presenting n = 1 "lure" foils. Lures elicited more false alarms than control foils in both 2- and 3-back tasks, and lures caused more misses to targets that immediately followed them compared with control targets, but only in 3-back tasks. N-back thus challenges control over familiarity-based responding. Participants also completed a verbal WM span task (operation span task) and a marker test of general fluid intelligence (Gf; Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices Test; J. C. Raven, J. E. Raven, & J. H. Court, 1998). N-back and WM span correlated weakly, suggesting they do not reflect primarily a single construct; moreover, both accounted for independent variance in Gf. N-back has face validity as a WM task, but it does not demonstrate convergent validity with at least 1 established WM measure.
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“Stimuli presentation was pseudo-randomized to avoid the occurrence of lure trials (i.e., non-target letters that match a recent letter in the sequence but not the letter N-back), which are known to elicit more false alarms (FA) and misses than non-lure non-targets because of their familiarity and resemblance to targets (see Kane et al., 2007).”
From Working Memory Reloaded: Tyrosine Repletes Updating in the N-Back Task (2013) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
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“Both maintenance and disengagement are important for problem-solving (e.g., Carpenter et al., 1990), but the relative contribution of each could be driving the different relationships of complex span tests and the n-back with fluid intelligence, as well as their less-than-perfect correlation with each other (e.g., Kane et al., 2007).”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“WM is itself an umbrella term encompassing diverse experimental paradigms, from maintenance of perceptual, spatial or verbal information to complex “n-back” and “span” tasks, with uncertain construct validity (Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007; Shallice & Cooper, 2011).”
From Strategic offloading of delayed intentions into the external environment (2015) · cites this paper as Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007
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“In conditions with n = 2 or higher (where the match is for the stimulus that appeared two or more items ago), this task requires the on-line monitoring and updating of WM content, which is known to be cognitively demanding (Kane et al., 2007).”
From Working Memory Reloaded: Tyrosine Repletes Updating in the N-Back Task (2013) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
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“One of the most common tasks used in these WM training studies is the N-back, an updating task that correlates significantly with measures of higher-level cognition, such as Matrix Reasoning20–24.”
From Near transfer to an unrelated N-back task mediates the effect of N-back working memory training on matrix reasoning (2022) · cites this paper as [23]
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“Two-back performance did not correlate significantly with either measure, whereas three-back performance correlated descriptively more strongly with Raven's matrices than with operation span.”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
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“Indeed, correlations between the n-back and operation span ranged from nonsignificant to weak (all rs ≤ .22).”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
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“Furthermore, operation span and the n-back each accounted for unique variance in fluid intelligence, suggesting a dissociation between the two measures.”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
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“Kane et al. (2007) identified recall versus recognition as one candidate.”
From Which “working memory” are we talking about? Complex span tasks versus N-back (2025) · cites this paper as Kane et al., 2007
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“Based on the cognitive load of the 2-back condition (20–22)”
From Dynamic reconfiguration of frontal brain networks during executive cognition in humans (2015) · cites this paper as [22]
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“For example, Kane et al. (2007) observed nonsignificant-to-weak correlations between operation span and two- and three-back letter tasks. The weak relationship in Kane et al. (2007) was not attributable to a lack of statistical power, given their large sample size (N = 129), nor was it due to low reliability for the o…”
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Janacsek, K., & Németh, D. (2013) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2013.02.012 · Cited by 145
Smoked Cannabis' Psychomotor and Neurocognitive Effects in Occasional and Frequent Smokers
Desrosiers, N. A., Ramaekers, J. G., Chauchard, É., Gorelick, D. A., & Huestis, M. A. (2015) · Journal of Analytical Toxicology · doi:10.1093/jat/bkv012 · Cited by 138
Yang, D., Hong, K., Yoo, S.-H., & Kim, C.-S. (2019) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00317 · Cited by 139
Reporting and Interpreting Working Memory Performance in n-back Tasks
Meule, A. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00352 · Cited by 153
“As the n-back task has been criticized for lacking clear associations with other working memory tasks (Kane et al., 2007; Jaeggi et al., 2010), using more fine-grained analyses of n-back task performance beyond reporting reaction times and accuracy may, therefore, reveal clearer insights about its…”
MethodInfluentialCognitive training with casual video games: points to consider
Baniqued, P. L., Kranz, M. B., Voss, M. W., Lee, H., Cosman, J. D., Severson, J., & Kramer, A. F. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01010 · Cited by 152
Gerst, E. H., Cirino, P. T., Fletcher, J. M., & Yoshida, H. (2017) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2015.1120860 · Cited by 133
Shelton, J. T., Elliott, E. M., Matthews, R. A., Hill, B. D., & Gouvier, W. D. (2010) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/a0019046 · Cited by 133
Control of interference during working memory updating.
Szmalec, A., Verbruggen, F., Vandierendonck, A., & Kemps, E. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance · doi:10.1037/a0020365 · Cited by 133
Gender Differences in Multitasking Reflect Spatial Ability
Mäntylä, T. (2013) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797612459660 · Cited by 132
Gerjets, P. H., Walter, C., Rosenstiel, W., Bogdan, M., & Zander, T. O. (2014) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2014.00385 · Cited by 145
“…research that predict learning outcomes very well (Daneman and Carpenter, 1980; Engle, 2002; Kornmann et al., submitted) but correlate only weakly with each other (Kane et al., 2007; Redick and Lindsey, 2013), indicating that different executive processes might be involved in task performance.”
BackgroundBarr, M. S., Farzan, F., Rusjan, P., Chen, R. E., Fitzgerald, P. B., & Daskalakis, Z. J. (2009) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2009.79 · Cited by 128
“…WM. Earlier studies that have examined the convergent validity between the N-back task and other WM measures, such as the operation span task (OSPAN), show correlations with lower WM loads (Shelton et al, 2007) and varied results with the 3-back condition (Shelton et al, 2007; Kane et al, 2007).”
ResultWorking memory in older adults declines with age, but is modulated by sex and education
Pliatsikas, C., Veríssimo, J., Babcock, L., Pullman, M. Y., Glei, D. A., Weinstein, M., Goldman, N., & Ullman, M. T. (2018) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1177/1747021818791994 · Cited by 143
Orbitofrontal Contributions to Human Working Memory
Barbey, A. K., Koenigs, M. R., & Grafman, J. H. (2010) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhq153 · Cited by 139
“790 Orbitofrontal Contributions to Working Memory d Barbey et al. by guest on A pril 29, 2016 http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/ D ow nloaded from information in working memory (for experimental validation of the nback task in working memory, see Kane et al. 2007).”
BackgroundMethodHilbert, S., Nakagawa, T., Puci, P., Zech, A., & Bühner, M. (2014) · European Journal of Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1027/1015-5759/a000223 · Cited by 148
Yarkoni, T., & Braver, T. S. (2010) · Plenum series on human exceptionality · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1210-7_6 · Cited by 145
The influence of positive mood on different aspects of cognitive control
Martin, E. A., & Kerns, J. G. (2010) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2010.491652 · Cited by 141
“However, some evidence suggests that the N-back is only weakly correlated with the operation span working memory capacity task (Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007 ).”
BackgroundSchmiedek, F., Lövdén, M., & Lindenberger, U. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01475 · Cited by 173
“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 23 December 2014 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01475 A task is a task is a task: putting complex span, n-back, and other working memory indicators in psychometric context”
ResultInfluentialWang, H., He, W., Wu, J., Zhang, J., Jin, Z., & Li, L. (2019) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2019.01.002 · Cited by 125
Nash Unsworth, A. (2009) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2009.11.010 · Cited by 134
The Effects of Theta and Gamma tACS on Working Memory and Electrophysiology
Pahor, A., & Jaušovec, N. (2018) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00651 · Cited by 120
Ginestet, C. E., & Simmons, A. (2011) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.030 · Cited by 112
“Research in this area generally seeks to unveil the neural basis of the central executive system of working memory (Baddeley, 1998; D'Esposito et al., 1995; Kane et al., 2007).”
BackgroundSensorimotor, language, and working memory representation within the human cerebellum
Ashida, R., Cerminara, N. L., Edwards, R. J., Apps, R., & Brooks, J. C. W. (2019) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.24733 · Cited by 116
Tsuchida, A., & Fellows, L. K. (2008) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn.2008.21172 · Cited by 124
“The latter finding agrees with a report that found little relationship between working memory span and n-back performance in healthy subjects (Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007 ).”
ResultAging and n-Back Performance: A Meta-Analysis
Bopp, K. L., & Verhaeghen, P. (2018) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gby024 · Cited by 127
Attention Selectively Reshapes the Geometry of Distributed Semantic Representation
Nastase, S. A., Connolly, A. C., Oosterhof, N. N., Halchenko, Y. O., Guntupalli, J. S., Castello, M. V. D. O., Gors, J. D., Gobbini, M. I., & Haxby, J. V. (2017) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhx138 · Cited by 111
Glutamate in schizophrenia: Neurodevelopmental perspectives and drug development
Egerton, A., Grace, A. A., Stone, J. M., Bossong, M. G., Sand, M. S., & McGuire, P. K. (2020) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2020.09.013 · Cited by 118
Stepankova, H., Lukavsky, J., Buschkuehl, M., Kopecek, M., Ripova, D., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2014) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0034913 · Cited by 101
Yang, D., Huang, R., Yoo, S.-H., Shin, M., Yoon, J. A., Shin, Y., & Hong, K. (2020) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2020.00141 · Cited by 98
“In this study, theN-back task was used to assess working memory (Kane et al., 2007).”
MethodEmotion processing facilitates working memory performance
Lindström, B., & Bohlin, G. (2011) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2010.527703 · Cited by 106
“This response rule required processing in addition to that of the original task, which should mainly tap familiarity-based recognition memory (Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007 , but see Schmiedek, Hildebrandt, Lovden, Wilhelm, & Hildenberger, 2009 ).”
MethodRathore, A., & Lom, B. (2017) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-017-0514-7 · Cited by 106
“ments actually measure working memory relative, to say, attention control or other domains [63].”
Hofmeister, P., Casasanto, L. S., & Sag, I. A. (2012) · Language · doi:10.1353/lan.2012.0025 · Cited by 97
Avery, E. W., Yoo, K., Rosenberg, M. D., Greene, A. S., Gao, S., Na, D. L., Scheinost, D., Constable, R. T., & Chun, M. M. (2019) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01487 · Cited by 96
Maula, H., Hongisto, V. O., Naatula, V., Haapakangas, A., & Koskela, H. (2017) · Indoor Air · doi:10.1111/ina.12387 · Cited by 96
Complex span tasks and hippocampal recruitment during working memory
Faraco, C. C., Nash Unsworth, A., Langley, J. A., Terry, D., Li, K., Zhang, D., Liu, T., & Miller, L. S. (2010) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.12.033 · Cited by 96
“Proper performance on CWMS tasks requires a high degree of executive attentional-control (Conway et al., 2003; Engle et al., 1999a; Kane et al., 2007a) to switch between tasks and maintain attention on the task at hand.”
BackgroundKhat Use Is Associated with Impaired Working Memory and Cognitive Flexibility
Colzato, L. S., Ruiz, M. J., van den Wildenberg, W. P. M., & Hommel, B. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020602 · Cited by 98
Maula, H., Hongisto, V. O., Östman, L., Haapakangas, A., Koskela, H., & Hyönä, J. (2015) · Indoor Air · doi:10.1111/ina.12209 · Cited by 92
Deldar, Z., Gevers‐Montoro, C., Khatibi, A., & Saidi, L. G. (2020) · AIMS neuroscience · doi:10.3934/neuroscience.2021001 · Cited by 105
Context Memory in Korsakoff’s Syndrome
Kessels, R. P. C., & Kopelman, M. D. (2012) · Neuropsychology Review · doi:10.1007/s11065-012-9202-5 · Cited by 102
“…et al. (2003) showed a deficit on the 2-back condition of the nback task, a test that may rely on the episodic buffer’s ability to maintain the temporal position across trials (Kessels et al. 2010) and that has been shown to be independent from the working memory slave system (Kane et al. 2007).”
BackgroundStrong genetic overlap between executive functions and intelligence.
Engelhardt, L. E., Mann, F. D., Briley, D. A., Church, J. A., Harden, K. P., & Tucker-Drob, E. M. (2016) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/xge0000195 · Cited by 91
Metadata
- Authors
- Kane, M. J., Conway, A. R. A., Miura, T. K., & Colflesh, G. J. H.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
- Published
- 2007-05
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 615-622
- ISSN
- 0278-7393 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1285
- OpenAlex
- W1978600950
- Cited by
- 933
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 68 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 70 · 2019: 67 · 2018: 63 · 2017: 57 · 2016: 50 · 2015: 57 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 21.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- libres.uncg.edu
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NC Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-00-1-131)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- n-back task, working memory, attentional control, construct validity, convergent validity, operation span, fluid intelligence, executive function
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Humans, Individuality, Intelligence, Memory, Short-Term, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Problem Solving, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Semantics, Serial Learning, Verbal Learning
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