Allen, RJ and Waterman, AH orcid.org/0000-0001-9882-7206 (2015) How does enactment affect the ability to follow instructions in working memory? Memory and Cognition, 43 (3). pp. 555-561. ISSN 0090-502X
Abstract
Recent studies examining working memory for sequences of instructions have demonstrated a performance advantage when instructions are physically enacted rather than verbally recalled. However, little is known about the source of this effect, or how instructions are stored in working memory more generally. In particular, no previous studies have compared impacts of enactment on encoding vs. recall in working memory. We conducted an experiment to examine the impact of enactment on both the encoding and recall phases of a task measuring memory for sequences of simple action-object pairs (e.g. touch the circle, spin the cross, flip the square...) in young adult participants. An advantage for enacted over verbal recall was observed, in line with recent evidence. In addition, enactment of actions during the encoding phase on each trial significantly facilitated subsequent performance; this effect was particularly apparent for verbal repetition rather than enacted recall. These findings are interpreted as reflecting a beneficial role for spatial-motoric coding in working memory, that can be engaged either through action planning or physical performance.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2014. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Memory and Cognition. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-014-0481-3. |
Keywords: | working memory; enactment; following instructions; SPT |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 Sep 2015 10:37 |
Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2016 13:43 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13421-014-0481-3 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Identification Number: | 10.3758/s13421-014-0481-3 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:89909 |