Cognition
Working memory metrics
Working memory is the cognitive workspace where reasoning happens. This page covers the main ways psychologists measure it.
Key takeaways
- Span tasks (digit, letter, spatial) are the classic measure.
- Complex span and n-back tap different sub-components.
- Working memory correlates strongly — but not perfectly — with fluid intelligence.
Span vs complex span
Simple span tasks ask the participant to recall a sequence. Complex span interleaves a secondary task between items, taxing both storage and processing.
N-back and beyond
N-back tests asks whether a current stimulus matches one shown n steps earlier. It is widely used in research but a noisy individual-differences measure.