Working Memory, Attention Control, and the N-Back Task: A Question of Construct Validity

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition memory, and cognition, 2007-05, Vol.33 (3), p.615-622
• Main Authors: Kane, Michael J, Conway, Andrew R. A, Miura, Timothy K, Colflesh, Gregory J. H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attention; Attention Control; Behavioral Science Research; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive Measurement; Construct Validity; Correlation analysis; Epistemology; Experimental Psychology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Individual Differences; Individuality; Intelligence; Learning. Memory; Memory; Memory, Short-Term; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Problem Solving; Psychological Studies; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychometrics; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time; Recognition (Psychology); Research Methodology; Semantics; Serial Learning; Short Term Memory; Verbal Learning
• ISSN: 0278-7393; 1939-1285
• DOI: 10.1037/0278-7393.33.3.615

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.