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The Effect Of Cognitive Style And Material Complexity On Visuo-spatial Working Memory

Posted on:2006-10-20Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:Y P ZhouFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155360155959648Subject:Basic Psychology
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Working memory (WM) implies a system for the temporary holding and manipulation of information during the performance of a range of cognitive tasks such as comprehension, learning , and reasoning. Baddeley (1986) suggested the architecture of the WM system comprised three separated components: a central executive and two slave systems, the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad. The central executive is a limited-capacity attentional system with controls and supervising functions. The phonological loop is responsible for the temporary storage of verbal material in a phonological code. The visuo-spatial sketch pad (VSSP) is involved in the temporary retention of visuo-spatial information.Before 1990s, psychologists were few concerned with visuo-spatial sketch pad, suggesting VSSP was the sibling of the phonological loop. Recently, VSSP (or visuo-spatial working memory) has generally become the hot spot in psychology. Visuo-spatial memory system receives information from either the senses or long-term memory, it is subject to a process by which information is lost over time, and it maintains information in a special format that is related to characteristics of the visual and spatial material with which the system has to deal. Furthermore, in the WM perspective, it is also necessary for the system to be able to elaborate the stored information, which may then be used in a variety of complex human activities such as orientation, movement in space, mental imagery, drawing, and so on (Logie,1995) . VSSP comprises two functional components: a passive visual cache and an active inner scribe. The visual cache is involved in the temporary maintaining of visual information, such as patterns and color. The inner scribe is an active spatial rehearsal mechanism, which is responsible for the storage, planning, and controlling spatial dynamic information.When psychologists examine individual differences of visuo-spatial working memory, a common procedure is based on the self-terminating principle. The best-known procedure based on the self-terminating span principle is known as the Corsi Block test. It is a classical task measuring the capacity of visuo-spatial working memory. The test presents sequentially visualstimulates which are random spatial positions, with nonverbal encode, excluding the data noise from verbal working memory.Cornoldi and Vecchi regards that visuo-spatial working memory is involved in a variety of operations, such as perceptual organization and scanning, encoding of patterns, color, position, and relation, storing and maintenance of encoded information, inhibiting irrelevant information, and maintaining attention on task. There is individual difference during of each operation. Thus, individual difference is an important factor affecting the performance of VSWM. Researchers have explored the personality variables affect the performance of VSWM, such as sex and age. Cognitive style is an important variable to imply individual difference during cognitive process, which is of universality and permeability. The study of field dependence-independence ( FDI) cognitive style and WM focuses mainly on the relation between FDI and verbal WM. By reading bibliographer, there has not been any study on the correlation between FDI cognitive style and VSWM.Visuo-spatial abilities depend on VSWM functioning. Field-independent (FI) individuals have more visuo-spatial cognitive abilities as compared with field-dependent (FD) individuals. FI individuals' minds differentiate more deeply than FD individuals'. The level of psychological differentiation affects the meta-cognitive skills directly, especially cognitive restructure, the attention monitor, and organizing and retrieving information. Furthermore, the performance of FI individuals is more accurate and efficient when larger amounts of information must be analyzed or integrated. Therefore, FDI cognitive style might affect the performance of VSWM.In addition, many researches report effects of structural, quantitative, and path measures of complexity on visuo-spatial memory span. (1) Structural complexity effect. Recall is better in a structured fashion than in a random display. (2) Quantitative complexity effect. Performance is inversely related to the number of elements. (3) Path complexity effects. Memory span depends on the spatial configuration made by path. Span is higher for the redundant path than for the complex trail.Three experiments are reported to explore the effect of FDI cognitive style and complexity on VSWM, the present research employs Corsi block test presenting by computer. By manipulating the display, quantity, and the to-be remembered block sequence, structural ,quantitative, and path complexity are induced. Experiment 1 focused on the effect of cognitive style and structural complexity on VSWM, which adopted a 2 (cognitive style: FD; FI ) ×2 (structural complexity: structural; random ) mixed factorial design. Cognitive style is between-subjects variable and structural complexity is within-subject variable. Experiment 2 explored the effect of cognitive style, structural and quantitative complexity on VSWM, the design of experiment was a 2 (cognitive style: FD; FI ) × 2 (structural complexity: structural; random ) × 2 (quantitative complexity: low; high) mixed factorial design. Cognitive style is between-subjects variable and structural and quantitative complexity is within-subject variable. Experiment 3 focused on the effect of cognitive style and path complexity on VSWM, which adopted a 2 (cognitive style: FD; FI) × 2 (path complexity: simple; complex ) mixed factors that included betv/een-subjects variable of FDI and within-subject variables of path complexity.The results indicated: (1) No matter under low or high quantitative condition, the interaction between FDI cognitive style and structural complexity was very significant. (2) Field-independent subjects performed significantly better than Field-dependent subjects under high quantitative condition. (3) The VSWM span of Field-independent subjects is higher significantly than Field-dependent subjects when recalling path complexity tasks. (4) Quantitative complexity and path complexity affect VSWM span significantly.These findings have important implications for theory research and practical appliance. In theory, they widen the field of VSWM and cognitive style research. In practice, they can help people improve the level of VSWM.
Keywords/Search Tags:cognitive style, visuo-spatial working memory, structural complexity, quantitative complexity, path complexity
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