Memory span

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The memory span (terms with a similar meaning: memory span or immediate retention, present duration, fluorescence memory , working memory ) is a basic human variable that cannot be further broken down and corresponds to an upper limit for processing conscious information . The larger it is, the more complicated thinking processes become possible. Their characteristics are related to success in school, work and everyday life as well as quality of life, mental health and lifespan in an information and knowledge society. This is what makes them practical.

The range of memory can be changed through physical influences such as certain diets including pharmaceuticals as well as through exercise or sleep and through mental training.

prehistory

In the history of intelligence psychology, the memory span, initially referred to as the "memory span", played an important role right from the start: A test for the memory span was already one of several sub-tests in the intelligence test, which is the first by today's standards ( Binet and Simon, 1904 ) been recorded. As a sub-test, the memory span was also probably one of the world's most widely used intelligence tests developed by Wechsler (1939).

Based on the analysis of human information processing according to telecommunications models, ( Frank , 1960) required two quantities that cannot be further decomposed for processing conscious information: 1) the information processing speed and 2) the duration of the presence , which corresponds to the temporal aspect of the memory span. The product of these two basic quantities is the short storage capacity , which is now also referred to as “ working storage capacity”. This does not correspond to the English working memory, because it usually does not include the information processing speed. Working memory is often the same as the memory span. Whether the latter is the case can be seen from the fact that only tests or exercises for the working memory are taken from the repertoire of the memory span, such as: B. Repeating digits or reproducing letters immediately. Research at the Erlangen School of Information Psychology demonstrated the connections between the two components of working memory capacity and intelligence, but also with biological, sociological and social variables. The relationships between the two components and intelligence are different. With imaging methods it has meanwhile also been proven that the memory span in the brain is based on a different network than the information processing speed (Takeuchi et al., 2011).

The measurement

The capacity of the memory span is measured by the task of repeating as long a series of characters as possible, each presented at an interval of one second, immediately after the presentation. The presentation of rows of letters has proven to be particularly favorable. Example: Instruction: “Read the following letters on a line, only about one second per letter. Then cover the line and immediately repeat the line of letters ":

  • WLE
  • UGNR
  • BZKTO
  • WTKHFM
  • EDJSRVI
  • GKNAPRWD

You check where someone gets stuck. The capacity of the memory span is the longest line that can be immediately repeated. Sequences of digits and monosyllabic words that can be pronounced in less than a second such as TOR, FASS or LICHT produce the same results. However, in the case of digit sequences, people who create rows of five or more pull the first two digits together to form a two-digit number ( chunking ). A correction is therefore used to bring the measurement results using digits - apart from measurement errors - to the same value as with letters and monosyllabic words ( Lehrl et al., 1992).

The differences to the memory span

The procedure for measuring the memory span differs from the recording of the memory span as it became known worldwide through tests by Wechsler (1945). In these tests, the series of digits are not only to be repeated forwards, but also backwards. With the latter method, the results are always below the upper limit of the memory range. Therefore the measurements of the memory span only reach the level of a rank scale and not an absolute scale, as is the case for the memory span. One of the consequences is that the memory span in the determination according to Wechsler basically cannot reflect the capacity of the main memory. Conceptually, the word “memory” also implies that the contents stored directly - in consciousness - are not reproduced directly, but are called up indirectly from a non-conscious memory.

The acute and temporal expression

The memory span has two aspects. She corresponds

  1. the number of units (items) that can be held in consciousness ; other terms for it are "memory span" or "immediate retention";
  2. the time in seconds in which information can be consciously managed safely; this side of the memory span is also referred to as the "present duration".

The units listed under 1) can be letters, numbers, monosyllables and similar items that have little information content and from which one cannot infer the others (stochastic independence) - e.g. B. "uprze" - as with successive letters that make up a word - for example "below".

The maximum number of items that can be consciously recorded coincides surprisingly exactly with the time in seconds during which information is immediately present when the consciousness is fully utilized.

The differences within and between people

From birth to 15/16 At the age of 30, the speed of information processing increases, remains at this level for up to 25 years and then decreases again. These are average results for the population. The statistical mean value for adults is 5.4 items, corresponding to 5.4 s (Lehrl & Fischer, 1988). There is a large variation in the ranges of memory between the people who strive for individually high performance in the test situation. In the case of mild intellectual disabilities it is 4.0 and in the case of intellectual giftedness it is 7.0 (Lehrl et al., 1992). In the case of general functional disorders of the brain such as acute alcohol or drug poisoning or the narcotic ketamine (Pfenninger et al., 2002) as well as senile dementia, the memory range drops (Lehrl et al., 1988). In the case of non-optimal activation states , e.g. B. in a relaxed state while watching TV or in school, the memory range is also below the individually possible maximum, which requires a full state of alertness .

The connections with other quantities

The larger the memory span, the more complicated thought processes become possible (Süllwold, 1964). This serves as an explanation for the monotonous relationships with the level of intelligence, especially the level of fluid intelligence (Engle et al., 1999) Colom et al. a., 2004). Its degree depends on success in school (Brooks & Shell, 2006; Colom et al., 2007), work (Kuncel et al., 2004) and everyday life as well as with the quality of life ( Gottfredson & Deary 2004, mental health (Cederblad & Dahlin, 1995) and Lifetime (Maier & Smith, 1999; Gottfredson & Deary, 2004) in an information and knowledge society, which is what gives them practical importance.

The changeability

As early as 1986, Weidenhammer u. a. over several studies in which the training of the working memory including the memory span increased the performance of fluid intelligence and the psychological stability of adults already after two weeks. An overview study by Takeuchi et al. a. (2010), in which the work by Weidenhammer et al. a. was not taken into account, confirmed that exercises of the memory span also promote other variables (so-called "transfer"), especially to concentrate on important things, to think complex and to be creative. In addition, they have lasting effects, which can still be demonstrated months later after about three weeks of training. Physical influencing factors also have considerable effects, for example a suitable supply of drinks (Rogers et al., 2001) and nutrition such as school meals (Genz, 2007; Wagner, 2009). Mental demands, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, sleep disorders and impaired sensory capacity all contribute to reducing the memory span.

literature

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