Task switching and short-term retention: The role of memory load in task switching performance

Shifting, which is the process of switching task sets between two or more tasks, incurs a cost: participants are slower and more error prone when a switch is required, relative to when the same task is performed in a sequential manner. Recent research in our lab has found a performance dissociation between two task switching paradigms in ML, a patient with reduced short-term memory (STM) capacity. The present study investigates the hypothesis that this dissociation is a result of memory load differences between the two shifting paradigms. We tested this hypothesis by measuring shifting abilities in patients with phonological and semantic short-term memory deficits, as well as age-matched controls under standard and articulatory suppression conditions. The results suggest that task-related memory demands impair the shifting performance of patients with STM deficits, and that phonological (but not semantic) retention contributes to shifting as task requirements increase.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Sciences

Grantor

Rice University

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Allen, Corinne

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Martin, Randi C.

• Experimental psychology
• Cognitive psychology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1911/62165

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.rice.edu:1911/62165