ERIC Number: EJ894085
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Oct
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-7164
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Verbal, Visual, and Spatial Working Memory Demands during Text Composition
Olive, Thierry; Kellogg, Ronald T.; Piolat, Annie
Applied Psycholinguistics, v29 n4 p669-687 Oct 2008
Two experiments examined whether text composition engages verbal, visual, and spatial working memory to different degrees. In Experiment 1, undergraduate students composed by longhand a persuasive text while performing a verbal, visual, or spatial concurrent task that was presented visually. In Experiment 2, participants performed a verbal or spatial concurrent task that was aurally presented. Writing performance was not disrupted differentially across the three tasks. Performance on all concurrent tasks showed fewer correct responses and longer RTs relative to single-task, baseline data. However, the demands on visual working memory were as high as those on verbal working memory, whereas demands on spatial working memory were minimal. The findings help to delineate the roles of the verbal, visual, and spatial working memory in written composition.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Writing (Composition), Short Term Memory, Spatial Ability, Persuasive Discourse, Task Analysis, Visual Stimuli, Verbal Communication, Auditory Stimuli, Reaction Time, Role
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
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