Heinz-Martin Süß

WORKING-MEMORY CAPACITY EXPLAINS REASONING ABILITY - AND A LITTLE BIT MORE

A 1,3,5-trialkoxy benzene having 1-2 carbon atoms in each of the alkoxy-groups is prepared at high overall yields, with minimal formation of hazardous or polluting by-products, by reacting 1,3,5-tribromo benzene with an alkalimetal alcoholate having 1-3 carbon atoms in the molecule in the presence of a copper salt, e.g. cuprous iodide or cupric chloride, and an aprotic solvent such as e.g. dimethylformamide. The product is readily recovered from the reaction mixture in an overall yield as high as 90%.

Working memory capacity — facets of a cognitive ability construct

Abstract Working memory capacity is differentiated theoretically along two dimensions: contents and functions. The resulting 3×3 matrix was operationalized by 23 tasks sampled from the literature. Data for these tasks from 128 participants were analyzed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Regarding the content facet, spatial working memory was clearly distinct from the other two content categories. A distinction between verbal and numerical working memory was not warranted. On the functional dimension the postulated categories of simultaneous storage and transformation and of coordination could not be separated. The third category was clearly separate from the first two functions. This factor could be interpreted to reflect a mixture of variance due to mental speed and to supervisory functions of the central executive.

The multiple faces of working memory: Storage, processing, supervision, and coordination

Investigated the distinctiveness of working memory functions and their components against the background of a multi-facet model. 133 university students (mean age 26 years) performed a series of specially constructed working memory tasks. Each task represented an operationalization of specific cells of the proposed taxonomy of working memory functional and content-related facets. Dependent variables included recall performance and reaction time. Structural equation modeling yielded 3 distinct working memory functions: (1) simultaneous storage of information in the context of processing, (2) supervision, and (3) coordination of elements into structures. Further analyses allowed for a more detailed subdivision of each function into specific components. Only a minimal portion of the variance associated with working memory functions is specific to the verbal or the spatial domain. Overall, the findings demonstrate that working memory is best characterized as a highly interrelated collection of cognitive functions.

Intelligenz und komplexes Problemlösen

Zusammenfassung. Die Validitat psychometrischer Intelligenztests wurde von Dorner et al. grundsatzlich in Frage gestellt, nachdem in fruheren Untersuchungen seines Labors kein Zusammenhang mit komplexen Problemloseleistungen festgestellt werden konnte. Der vorliegende Beitrag argumentiert, das diese Schlusfolgerung nicht gerechtfertigt ist. Es wird theoretisch begrundet, warum ein Zusammenhang zu erwarten ist, und es werden zahlreiche Methodenprobleme als mogliche Grunde fur das Ausbleiben des postulierten Zusammenhangs in verschiedenen Untersuchungen diskutiert. Es wird dargestellt, welche methodischen Voraussetzungen gegeben sein mussen, um die Zusammenhangshypothese prufen zu konnen. Ferner werden neue empirische Befunde berichtet, die die Position unterstutzen, das in adaquat konzipierten Untersuchungen, Intelligenztest- und komplexe Problemloseleistungen substantiell korreliert sind. Schlieslich wird die These vertreten, das die dargestellten Probleme in fruheren Untersuchungen das Resultat fehlender...

Working memory and interference : a comment on Jenkins, Myerson, Hale, and Fry (1999)

Jenkins, Myerson, Hale, and Fry (1999) showed that slopes relating complex spans to simple spans were considerably smaller than one, indicating that persons with higher simple spans suffered more interference when the span task was combined with a processing demand. They argued that this finding ruled out accounts of working memory based on interference and/or inhibition of interfering information. We demonstrate that the effect is mainly an artifact from regression to the mean, owing to the low reliability of span scores as used by Jenkins et al. Data from 133 young adults for two verbal and two spatial span tasks show that the slopes relating complex to simple performance are considerably higher for sum scores than for span scores. Furthermore, an adequate test for an interference or an inhibition account of working memory is to predict interference from complex span tasks, not from simple span tasks. Interference effects in the verbal span tasks were negatively correlated with an independent measure of working memory capacity, consistent with the interference/inhibition account.

Measuring slips and lapses when they occur - ambulatory assessment in application to cognitive failures.

Cognitive failures are lapses in attention, cognition, and actions that everybody experiences in everyday life. Self-reports are mainly used for assessment but those instruments are memory-biased and more related to personality aspects than to actual behavior. Ambulatory assessment is already used for capturing emotions or addictive behavior, but not yet for cognitive failures. The newly developed Questionnaire for Cognitive Failures in Everyday Life (KFA) was applied via mobile phones (electronic KFA) wherein an acoustic signal asked participants (N=91, 60-76 years) 4 times daily to answer 13 questions for 1 week. The new instrument showed satisfying reliability and was compared with a self-report method (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire; Broadbent, Cooper, Fitzgerald, and Parkes, 1982) in terms of correlations with cognitive abilities (working memory capacity, short-term memory, switching ability, and reasoning), personality traits, and demographical aspects. Although further validation is needed, first results are promising and eKFA enriches cognitive failures research.

Modeling the construct validity of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Model

The Berlin Intelligence Structure Model is a hierarchical and faceted model which is originally based on an almost representative sample of tasks found in the literature. Therefore, the Berlin Intelligence Structure Model is an integrative model with a high degree of generality. The present paper investigates the construct validity of this model by using different confirmatory factor analysis models. The results show that the model assumptions are supported only in part by the data. Moreover, it is demonstrated that there are different possibilities to incorporate the Berlin Intelligence Structure Model assumptions into confirmatory factor analysis models. The results are discussed with regard to the validity of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Model test, and the validity of the model.

Ermüdungs- und Übungseffekte bei mehrstündiger kognitiver Beanspruchung

Zusammenfassung. In langeren psychometrischen Untersuchungen, die sich mit kognitiven Leistungen von Personen befassen, ist es denkbar, das sowohl motivationale Aspekte als auch Ermudungs- und Bela...

Impact of Cognitive Abilities and Prior Knowledge on Complex Problem Solving Performance – Empirical Results and a Plea for Ecologically Valid Microworlds

The original aim of complex problem solving (CPS) research was to bring the cognitive demands of complex real-life problems into the lab in order to investigate problem solving behavior and performance under controlled conditions. Up until now, the validity of psychometric intelligence constructs has been scrutinized with regard to its importance for CPS performance. At the same time, different CPS measurement approaches competing for the title of the best way to assess CPS have been developed. In the first part of the paper, we investigate the predictability of CPS performance on the basis of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Model and Cattell’s investment theory as well as an elaborated knowledge taxonomy. In the first study, 137 students managed a simulated shirt factory (Tailorshop; i.e., a complex real life-oriented system) twice, while in the second study, 152 students completed a forestry scenario (FSYS; i.e., a complex artificial world system). The results indicate that reasoning – specifically numerical reasoning (Studies 1 and 2) and figural reasoning (Study 2) – are the only relevant predictors among the intelligence constructs. We discuss the results with reference to the Brunswik symmetry principle. Path models suggest that reasoning and prior knowledge influence problem solving performance in the Tailorshop scenario mainly indirectly. In addition, different types of system-specific knowledge independently contribute to predicting CPS performance. The results of Study 2 indicate that working memory capacity, assessed as an additional predictor, has no incremental validity beyond reasoning. We conclude that (1) cognitive abilities and prior knowledge are substantial predictors of CPS performance, and (2) in contrast to former and recent interpretations, there is insufficient evidence to consider CPS a unique ability construct. In the second part of the paper, we discuss our results in light of recent CPS research, which predominantly utilizes the minimally complex systems (MCS) measurement approach. We suggest ecologically valid microworlds as an indispensable tool for future CPS research and applications.

Die Posttraumatische Belastungsstörung nach Verkehrsunfällen

Zusammenfassung: Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Auftretensrate der Posttraumatischen Belastungsstorung (PTSD) drei bis vier Monate nach einem Verkehrsunfall sowie ihre Vorhersagbarkeit durch eine fruhzeitige Datenerhebung. Untersucht wurde der Einfluss einer akuten PTSD-Symptomatik kurz nach dem Unfall sowie Risikofaktoren, die aus einschlagigen Theorien abgeleitet wurden. Dazu wurden 48 Verkehrsunfallopfer, die Patienten auf unfallchirurgischen Stationen waren, durchschnittlich elf Tage nach dem Unfall zu ihrer Soziobiografie und zum Unfallhergang befragt. Zum gleichen Zeitpunkt sowie dreieinhalb Monate nach dem Unfall wurde mit dem SKID-PTSD diagnostiziert, ob eine PTSD-Symptomatik vorliegt. Im Untersuchungsdesign fanden empirische sowie methodische Kontrollen fur die Untersuchung psychotraumatischer Auswirkungen durch physische Verletzung Berucksichtigung. Die Auftretensrate betrug 18.8 % fur eine voll ausgepragte und 14.6 % fur eine subsyndromale PTSD. Als Risikofaktoren fur deren Entstehen kon...