Is working memory capacity a causal factor in fluid intelligence?
Open accessAbstract
It is well established that measures of reasoning ability and of working memory capacity (WMC) correlate positively. However, the question of what explains this relationship remains open. The purpose of this study was to investigate the capacity hypothesis, which ascribes causality to WMC. This hypothesis holds that people high in WMC are more successful in capacity-demanding cognitive tasks than people lower in WMC because they can temporarily maintain more information in the form of sub-goals, hypotheses, and partial solutions. Accordingly, this hypothesis predicts that the correlation between WMC and reasoning performance should increase as the capacity demands of the reasoning items increase. We tested this prediction using items from Raven's Progressive Matrices and two measures of WMC, complex span and the k estimate from the Visual Arrays task. Neither WMC measure showed the effect predicted by the capacity hypothesis. Furthermore, the results cannot be attributed to restriction of range in performance on the individual reasoning items. This finding adds to existing evidence calling into question the capacity hypothesis, and, more generally, the view that WMC has a causal influence on fluid intelligence.
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Burgoyne, Hambrick, and Altman (2019) found no evidence for a causal relationship between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence.
“In the same vein, Burgoyne, Hambrick, and Altman (2019) have recently failed to find any evidence of a causal link between WM capacity and fluid intelligence.”
From Working memory training in typically developing children: A multilevel meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Burgoyne, Hambrick, and Altman, 2019
The Abstract (page unavailable) reports that neither working-memory measure showed the effect predicted by the capacity hypothesis, and says the finding calls a causal influence on fluid intelligence into question. The study tested that specific prediction; it did not establish that there is no evidence for any possible causal link. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe correlation between working memory and fluid intelligence task performance does not depend on the capacity demands of the fluid intelligence items.
“In fact, this study shows that the correlation between performance in WM tasks and fluid intelligence tasks is not a function of the capacity demands of the items of fluid intelligence tasks.”
From Working memory training in typically developing children: A multilevel meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Burgoyne et al., 2019
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Working memory training in typically developing children: A multilevel meta-analysis
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2020) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/s13423-019-01681-y · Cited by 131 · see citing works
- Authors
- Burgoyne, A. P., Hambrick, D. Z., & Altmann, E. M.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Burgoyne, Alexander P.
- Venue
- Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
- Published
- 2019-04-22
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1333-1339
- ISSN
- 1069-9384 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-5320
- OpenAlex
- W2941823394
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 5.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Office of Naval Research (N00014-16-1-2457)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- working memory capacity, fluid intelligence, reasoning skills, Raven's Progressive Matrices, complex span, restriction of range
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Cognition, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Male, Memory, Short-Term, Problem Solving, Task Performance and Analysis, Young Adult
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