On the law relating processing to storage in working memory.

Barrouillet, Pierre; Portrat, Sophie; Camos, Valérie · 2011 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1037/a0022324

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

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Summary

This paper addresses a fundamental gap in working memory theory: the dynamic relationship between the simultaneous processing and storage of information. While Baddeley and Hitch’s multiple-component model posits that processing and storage are independent functions fueled by separate resources, empirical evidence increasingly contradicts this assumption. The authors aim to establish a precise mathematical law relating the cognitive load of concurrent processing to the amount of information that can be maintained in working memory, challenging the independence hypothesis and offering a unified account of working memory dynamics. The authors derive their predictions from the Time-Based Resource-Sharing (TBRS) model, which proposes that processing and storage share a single limited resource: attention. According to TBRS, maintenance requires periodic attentional refreshing to counteract time-related decay, while processing occupies this attentional bottleneck. Consequently, processing and storage compete for time, creating a trade-off. The authors define cognitive load (CL) as the proportion of time attention is occupied by processing. They predict a linear function where working memory span decreases as CL increases, specifically formulated as Span = k(1 – CL), where k represents the maximum span when CL is zero (approximating Miller’s 7±2 chunks). To test this, the authors conducted new experiments using computer-paced working memory span tasks. These tasks manipulated executive demands, such as inhibiting prepotent responses in Stroop-like conditions or updating working memory content, to create precise variations in cognitive load while controlling temporal parameters. The results corroborate the predicted linear relationship. In experiments involving the inhibition of prepotent responses, higher cognitive load resulted in significantly poorer recall performance. Regression analysis of these conditions revealed a linear trend accounting for 98% of the variance in recall performance, with a slope of -6.78 and an intercept of 7.16, closely matching the theoretical parameters. A meta-analysis of these new findings alongside previous studies across verbal and visuo-spatial domains further confirmed that the impact of processing on storage is determined by the temporal cognitive load rather than the specific nature of the task. The data consistently showed that increasing the time attention is occupied by processing leads to a proportional loss in storage capacity, regardless of whether the tasks involve verbal or visuo-spatial materials. The significance of these findings lies in the rejection of the structural independence of processing and storage proposed by the multiple-component model. Instead, the paper establishes that working memory functions through a time-sharing mechanism governed by a central attentional bottleneck. The derived linear law provides a quantitative framework for understanding how cognitive load dictates memory capacity, suggesting that working memory is not a set of independent stores but a dynamic system where processing and storage are inextricably linked through the competition for attentional resources. This offers a more accurate and unified explanation for complex cognitive functioning.

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Topics

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• working memory
• capacity resource theory