The Auditory N-back Task: An Unstable Standard?
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Abstract
The Auditory N-back Task: An Unstable Standard? Camille L. Wheatley1,2, Kaedyn W. Crabtree1, Ashleigh V. T. Wise3, Conner J. Motzkus4, Spencer C. Castro1,5, Joel M. Cooper6, & David L. Strayer1† 1 University of Utah, 2 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 3 University of Kansas, 4 University of Windsor, 5 University of California, Merced, 6 Red Scientific Inc. † Professor Emeritus, University of Utah Corresponding author: Joel M. Cooper, joel@redscientific.com Highlights • Repeated exposur
Summary
PsyArXiv preprint of Wheatley et al. N-back temporal stability study. Same two-experiment design examining auditory N-back stability over repeated on-road driving sessions. Documents systematic performance improvement and decreasing cognitive workload across 26+ sessions. Novel digit sequences show equivalent performance to original sequences.
Key finding
N-back performance improves with repeated use and this generalizes to novel sequences. Cognitive workload decreases as measured by DRT RT, hit rate, and NASA-TLX. Implications for multi-session studies using N-back as reference task.
Methodology
Exp 1: 10 participants, 26+ on-road sessions. Exp 2: 20 participants with prior exposure, Old vs New sequence comparison. On-road driving paradigm.
Sample size: Exp 1: N=10; Exp 2: N=20
Quality score: 6 / 5