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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.
In the citing paper
“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 the citing paper
“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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“N-Back is a cognitive task extensively applied in phsycology and cognitive neuroscience, designed to measure working memory [9].”
BackgroundStark, G. F., Avery, E. W., Rosenberg, M. D., Greene, A. S., Gao, S., Scheinost, D., Constable, R. T., Chun, M. M., & Yoo, K. (2021) · Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1002/brb3.2105 · Cited by 8
“For example, Kane et al. (2007) and Jaeggi et al. (2010) both found that performance on the N- back task is related to both working memory abilities and fluid intelligence.”
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Ohshima, S., Koeda, M., Kawai, W., Saito, H., Niioka, K., Okuno, K., Naganawa, S., Hama, T., Kyutoku, Y., & Dan, I. (2023) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2023.1160392 · Cited by 10
“Though N-back tasks are known to require working memory processes (Owen et al., 2005; Kane et al., 2007), the VLPFC in the right inferior frontal regions, which is the center of working memory, elicited activation only during the Emotion task, and not during the Identity task.”
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“Critically, complex span tasks better represent ecologically valid working memory demands and such tasks may be more appropriate for investigating the long-term cognitive consequences of mTBI (Kane et al., 2007).”
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“WM is measured using a task called the N-back task [24].”
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“Additionally, Kane et al. (2007) reported nonsignificant to weak correlations between WMC and updating tasks.”
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“The computerized 2-back task 96,97 was used to assess working memory, or the updating component of executive function.”
MethodMixter, S., Mathiassen, S. E., Bjärntoft, S., Lindfors, P., Lyskov, E., & Hallman, D. (2021) · Annals of Work Exposures and Health · doi:10.1093/annweh/wxab045 · Cited by 7
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“…would allow one to evaluate whether tasks such as n-back, that have face validity as measures of executive aspects of WM but whose construct validity has been questioned (Gajewski et al., 2018; Kane et al., 2007; Miller et al., 2009; Redick & Lindsey, 2013), load on which specific components of WM.”
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“The tool contains tests of digit symbol substitution test (67), the choice reaction time test (68), the trail making test B (69), the n-back working memory paradigm (70), and a self-report 5-item questionnaire on perception of cognitive function—the perceived deficit questionnaire (PDQ-5) (71).”
MethodMoss, A., Miles, C., Elsley, J. V., & Johnson, A. J. (2019) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2019.1653469 · Cited by 7
“This is beyond the scope of the present study (for more detail see, for example, Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, et al., 2010; Kane et al., 2007; Redick & Lindsey, 2013).”
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“In our present task version, N was preset to be as 1, 2, or 3, the idea being that a larger N is associated with higher WM demands (Kane et al., 2007).”
BackgroundInfluentialGhosh, A., Shaktan, A., Nehra, R., Verma, A., Rana, D. K., Ahuja, C. K., Modi, M., Singh, P., & Basu, D. (2024) · Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1097/jcp.0000000000001824 · Cited by 6
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“We chose to focus on the two-back task, as it is a well-recognized and validated paradigm measuring working memory (Braver et al., 1997; Kane et al., 2007; Perlstein et al., 2003).”
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“Although practice blocks were provided for both tasks, they comprised less trials (20 for each of the 1 -and 2 -back and for the SST) than typical of full laboratory versions of the task (40 for each n -back level, Kane et al., 2007, p. 32 for the SST; Verbruggen et al., 2008).”
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BackgroundMarti, E., Coll, S. Y., Doganci, N., & Ptak, R. (2024) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108998 · Cited by 6
“Additionally, the classification of the N-back task as a “ pure ” WM measure has been debated (Cowan, 2001; Kane et al., 2007; Oberauer, 2005).”
BackgroundResultDölek, G. T., Ozel-Kizil, E. T., Baştuğ, G., Baran, Z., & Çolak, B. (2021) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/13803395.2021.1898549 · Cited by 6
“Accuracy Coefficient Score ACSð Þ ¼Mean X =Target Standard Deviation 2-back task The “n-back task” is widely used to assess working memory functions and has different versions (Kane et al., 2007).”
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“Regular updating occurs as information is presented to the participants [92].”
BackgroundKidd, G., & Humes, L. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00987 · Cited by 6
“Like any working memory task, the n-back task has some task-specific demands that involve abilities that may have little or nothing to do with the basic processing and capacity aspects of working memory (see Kane et al., 2007; Schmiedek et al., 2009).”
MethodValidation of a short-term memory test for the recognition of people and faces
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BackgroundWorking Memory and Intelligence
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“Another alternative is the n-back task with “lures” (e. g., Kane et al. 2007; Novick et al. 2014: 191).”
BackgroundSelective updating of sentences: Introducing a new measure of verbal working memory
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“In this task, participants observed a stream of phonologically distinct letters [B, F, K, H, M, Q, R, X; Kane et al. (2007)] and responded when the current stimulus was presented n (two) trials prior (Figure S1c).”
BackgroundA verbális fluencia és a munkamemória életkori változásai és szerepük az iskolai teljesítményben
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“The 2-back task was also used to measure working memory 45,46 (but see also 47 ).”
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“…as a hit, miss, false alarm, or correct rejection based on participants’ responses. sensitivity (d l ) was calculated for each session as done by Kane et al. (2007) using the formula proposed by snodgrass and corwin (1988) where ln = natural log, h = hit rate, and Fa = false alarm rate. hit…”
Pindus, D. M., Lloyd, K. M., Ligeza, T. S., Askow, A. T., McKenna, C., Bashir, N., Martin, H., Quiroz, F. B., Herrera, B. M., Cannavale, C., et al. (2025) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.112519 · Cited by 6
“WM requires attentional control to encode, update, and maintain items held in WM to facilitate successful task performance (Szmalec et al., 2011; Rac-Lubashevsky and Kessler, 2016; Kane et al., 2007).”
Han, J.-C., Zhang, C., Cai, Y.-D., Li, Y., Shang, Y., Chen, Z., Yang, G., Song, J.-J., Su, D., Bai, K., et al. (2025) · Brain Research Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111223 · Cited by 5
Longman, D. P., Hedger, S. C. V., McEwan, K., Griffin, E., Hannon, C., Harvey, I., Kikuta, T., Nickels, M., O’Donnell, E., Pham, V. A., et al. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-11469-x · Cited by 10
“Although the dual n-back has been discussed as a measure of working memory (e.g., 80,81 ). the construct validity of n-back assessments as working memory measures has been questioned 82 .”
Perfetti, B., Tesse, M., Varanese, S., Saggino, A., & ONOFRJ, M. C. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026249 · Cited by 6
“The positive correlation between gf and interference control has been reported in previous studies using single-domain n-back WM task [9,12,15].”
The daily rhythms of working memory and their methodological constraints: a critical overview
Monteiro, F., Rodrigues, P., Nascimento, C. S., Simões, F., & Leocádio-Miguel, M. A. (2021) · Biological Rhythm Research · doi:10.1080/09291016.2021.1907511 · Cited by 5
“This cognitive function plays an active role in learning and intelligence, being one of the main predictors of academic achievement (Bayliss et al. 2003; Kane et al. 2007; Bull et al. 2008).”
BackgroundKenny, L., Remington, A., & Pellicano, E. (2021) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05034-4 · Cited by 5
“For example, one relevant claim is that n -back tasks are not a reliable metric of spatial working memory (Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007), which, if true, means that the shared variance between the dot-counting task and the n -back task might not reflect working memory ability per se and…”
BackgroundScholl, F., Enge, S., & Gärtner, M. (2021) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci11081083 · Cited by 4
“Attentional resources are as important as WM capacity for successful performance of the n-back task [34].”
BackgroundThe impact of spatial and verbal working memory load on semantic relatedness judgements
Khanzhyn, D., van Heuven, W. J. B., & Rataj, K. (2023) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-023-02323-0 · Cited by 5
“The load was manipulated using the n-back paradigm (Kane et al., 2007).”
Niforatos, E., He, T., Vourvopoulos, A., & Giannakos, M. N. (2024) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2024.2388368 · Cited by 6
“The n-back task has been employed in literature as a working-memory test (Jaeggi et al., 2010; Kane et al., 2007).”
Ji, X., Dong, Q., Liu, Z., Pu, J., & Li, T. (2024) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120944 · Cited by 6
“This result is consistent with existing research showing that an increase in cognitive load reduces performance, confirming that in our experiment participants ’ cognitive load increased with the difficulty of the task (Kane et al., 2007).”
The pleasure of effort: Cognitive challenges trigger hedonic physiological responses
Kraus, J., Mlynski, C., Hartmann, F., Clay, G., Goschke, T., Silani, G., & Job, V. (2025) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.15323 · Cited by 5
Gabales, L., & Birney, D. P. (2011) · Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/20445911.2011.501330 · Cited by 5
“At the forefront is the fact that WM is almost invariably treated as a unidimensional construct (ie, one latent variable) that is predominantly and increasingly operationalised through complex span tasks (eg, Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007 ).”
BackgroundPrice, J. M., Colflesh, G. J. H., Cerella, J., & Verhaeghen, P. (2014) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.12.008 · Cited by 5
“This prediction follows from our finding that, although both updating and WMC are related to Gf (Kane et al., 2007), the updating process benefits themost from repeated practice.”
ResultSelf-citationMixter, S., Mathiassen, S. E., Lindfors, P., Dimberg, K., Jahncke, H., Lyskov, E., & Hallman, D. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17228509 · Cited by 5
“, simple span tasks, reaction time tests, or the Stroop color word test [56].”
MethodTest-retest reliability of prepulse inhibition (PPI) and PPI correlation with working memory
Freudenberg, F., Althen, H., Falk, K., Bittner, R. A., Reif, A., & Plichta, M. M. (2022) · Acta Neuropsychiatrica · doi:10.1017/neu.2022.19 · Cited by 5
A dual-task approach to inform the taxonomy of inhibition-related processes.
Bissett, P. G., Jones, H. M., Hagen, M. P., Bui, T. T., Li, J. K., Rios, J. A. H., Mumford, J. A., Shine, J. M., & Poldrack, R. A. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/xhp0001073 · Cited by 8
de Jager, S., Damme, S. V., Baere, S. D., Croubels, S., Jäger, R., Purpura, M., Lievens, E., Bourgois, J., & Derave, W. (2023) · International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism · doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2022-0115 · Cited by 5
Perfetti, B., Varanese, S., Mancino, E., Mercuri, P., Tesse, M., Franciotti, R., Bonanni, L., Thomas, A., & ONOFRJ, M. C. (2014) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.02.020 · Cited by 8
Relationship between Self-Reported Symptoms of Fatigue and Cognitive Performance
Nieznański, M., Rowiński, T., Kobos, Z., Obidziński, M., Strus, W., & Gasiul, H. (2020) · Psihologijske teme · doi:10.31820/pt.29.2.1 · Cited by 7
A rövid távú emlékezet és a munkamemória online mérése: Corsi, számterjedelem és n-vissza
Kovacs, K., Faragó, B., Kövi, Z., Rózsa, S., & Dávid, M. (2016) · Magyar Pszichológiai Szemle · doi:10.1556/0016.2016.71.1.4 · Cited by 5
Comparison of working memory abilities in adults who do and do not stutter
Devaraju, D. S., Kumar, U., & Santosh, M. (2017) · Journal of Indian Speech Language & Hearing Association · doi:10.4103/jisha.jisha_5_17 · Cited by 5
“six CV syllables were presented randomly at 2000 ms inter-stimulus interval.[26,32-34] Each task had a total of 120”
MethodThe invention of n-back: An extremely brief historyPreprint
Kane, M. J., & Conway, A. R. A. (2016) · doi:10.15200/winn.146722.26397 · Cited by 7
“It also conceived experimental manipulations of serial order that recent studies independently verified as critical to n-back’s validity as a working memory measure (e.g., Gray et al., 2003; Kane et al., 2007; Oberauer, 2005).”
MethodSelf-citationPhishing Vulnerability Compounded by Older Age, APOE4 Genotype, and Lower CognitionPreprint
Pehlivanoglu, D., Shoenfelt, A., Hakim, Z. M., Heemskerk, A., Zhen, J., Mosqueda, M., Wilson, R. C., Huentelman, M. J., Grilli, M. D., Turner, G. R., et al. (2023) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/6f2y9 · Cited by 5
Arumuham, A., Shatalina, E., Nour, M. M., Veronese, M., Onwordi, E. C., Kaar, S. J., Jauhar, S., Rabiner, E. A., & Howes, O. D. (2024) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-024-06730-6 · Cited by 3
“Additionally, although the n-back task is effectively employed as a task that engages working memory, a core facet of working memory is attention, with higher attentional-control demands noted in higher task conditions (Kane et al. 2007).”
Photobiomodulation mechanisms: duration of action in the human prefrontal cortex
O’Connor, P., Lime, T., Barrett, D. W., & Gonzalez-Lima, F. (2025) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1726805 · Cited by 4
“This task is a widely used measure for the assessment of working memory function (Owen et al., 2005; Kane et al., 2007).”
Bakhchina, A. V., Arutyunova, K. R., Burashnikov, E. P., Filatova, A., Filimonov, A. V., & Shishalov, I. S. (2025) · Journal of Eye Movement Research · doi:10.3390/jemr19010001 · Cited by 5
Trial-Level and Contiguous Syntactic Adaptation: A Common Domain-General Mechanism at Play?
Kuz, V., Cai, F., Chen, K., Chen, J., Qi, X., Veall, C., Zheng, Y., Xu, Z., & Santi, A. (2024) · Languages · doi:10.3390/languages9030073 · Cited by 5
“…the conflict between the identity of the letter and its position is theorised to recruit the conflict resolution component of cognitive control (Burgess et al. 2011; Gray et al. 2003; Kane et al. 2007), which is also thought to help recovery from syntactic conflict in garden-path sentences.”
BackgroundDeMayo, M. M., Cole, J., Sohn, M. N., Bray, S., Harris, A. D., Patten, S. B., & McGirr, A. (2024) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/07067437241293984 · Cited by 5
“34 Further, although we did not see evidence of an acute effect of D-cycloserine in healthy individuals relative to placebo, this may re fl ect a ceiling effect.”
Weigard, A. S., Suzuki, T., Skalaban, L. J., Conley, M. I., Cohen, A. O., Garavan, H., Heitzeg, M. M., Casey, B. J., Sripada, C., & Heathcote, A. (2024) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1111/cogs.70019 · Cited by 5
“…of goal-relevant information than the 0-back task, and the contrast between the 2-back and 0-back is, therefore, typically interpreted as isolating the construct of “working memory,” although this characterization has been challenged (Kane, Conway, Miura, & Colflesh, 2007; Schmiedek et al., 2009).”
Conditions for positive and negative recencies in running memory-span recognition
Marcos-Ruiz, R., & Elosúa, M. R. (2013) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.07.006 · Cited by 4
Two Attentional Processes Subserving Working Memory Differentiate Gifted and Mainstream Students
Johnson, J., Howard, S. J., & Pascual‐Leone, J. (2024) · Journal of Cognition · doi:10.5334/joc.370 · Cited by 4
“N-back requires participants to continually update a set of stimuli held in mind, adding newly relevant stimuli at the expense of those that are no longer task-relevant (Cohen et al., 1997; Friedman et al., 2006; Kane et al., 2007; Im-Bolter et al., 2006).”
BackgroundSkolasinska, P., Qin, S., Voss, M. W., Lee, H., & Basak, C. (2024) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.26804 · Cited by 4
“The out-of-scanner behavioral assessments were two tasks of cognitive control: letter two-back (Kane et al., 2007; Kirchner, 1958) and arrow Flanker (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974).”
MethodAn empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning
Jackson, D. O. (2016) · Bilingual processing and acquisition · doi:10.1075/bpa.3.08jac · Cited by 4
Abadi, A. E. S., Gerami, G. K., & Shamsabadi, P. E. (2022) · Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.5812/ijpbs-114188 · Cited by 6
Pugin, F., Metz, A. J., Stauffer, M., Wolf, M., Jenni, O. G., & Huber, R. (2014) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.3929 · Cited by 4
Qin, S., & Basak, C. (2022) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108269 · Cited by 3
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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