Ralph Kathryn J, Gibson Bradley S, Gondoli Dawn M
a Department of Psychology , University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame , IN , USA.
J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2018 Oct;40(8):841-851. doi: 10.1080/13803395.2018.1441378. Epub 2018 Mar 6.
Existing evidence suggests that performance- and rating-based measures of working memory (WM) correlate poorly. Although some researchers have interpreted this evidence as suggesting that these measures may be assessing distinct cognitive constructs, another possibility is that rating-based measures are related to some but not all theoretically motivated performance-based measures. The current study distinguished between performance-based measures of primary memory (PM) and secondary memory (SM), and examined the relation between each of these components of WM and parent-ratings on the WM subscale of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-WM). Because SM and BRIEF-WM scores have both been associated with group differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it was hypothesized that SM scores would be uniquely related to parent-rated BRIEF-WM scores.
Participants were a sample of 77 adolescents with and without an ADHD diagnosis, aged 11 to 15 years, from a midwestern school district. Participant scores on verbal and spatial immediate free recall tasks were used to estimate both PM and SM capacities. Partial correlation analyses were used to evaluate the extent to which estimates of PM and SM were uniquely related parent-rated BRIEF-WM scores.
Both verbal and spatial SM scores were significantly related to parent-rated BRIEF-WM scores, when corresponding PM scores were controlled. Higher verbal and spatial SM scores were associated with less frequent parent-report of WM-related failures in their child's everyday life. However, neither verbal nor spatial PM scores significantly related to parent-rated BRIEF-WM scores, when corresponding SM scores were controlled.
The current study suggested that previously observed low correlations between performance- and rating-based measures of WM may result from use of performance-based WM measures that do not capture the unique contributions of PM and SM components of WM.
现有证据表明，基于表现和评分的工作记忆（WM）测量方法之间的相关性较差。尽管一些研究人员将这一证据解释为表明这些测量方法可能在评估不同的认知结构，但另一种可能性是，基于评分的测量方法与一些但并非所有理论上有动机的基于表现的测量方法相关。本研究区分了基于表现的初级记忆（PM）和次级记忆（SM）测量方法，并考察了WM的这些组成部分与执行功能行为评定量表（BRIEF-WM）中WM子量表的家长评分之间的关系。由于SM和BRIEF-WM分数都与注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）的组间差异有关，因此假设SM分数将与家长评定的BRIEF-WM分数有独特的相关性。
参与者是来自中西部学区的77名11至15岁有或没有ADHD诊断的青少年样本。参与者在言语和空间即时自由回忆任务上的分数用于估计PM和SM能力。偏相关分析用于评估PM和SM估计值与家长评定的BRIEF-WM分数独特相关的程度。
当相应的PM分数得到控制时，言语和空间SM分数均与家长评定的BRIEF-WM分数显著相关。较高的言语和空间SM分数与家长报告其孩子在日常生活中与WM相关的失败频率较低有关。然而，当相应的SM分数得到控制时，言语和空间PM分数均与家长评定的BRIEF-WM分数无显著相关性。
本研究表明，先前观察到的基于表现和评分的WM测量方法之间的低相关性可能是由于使用了不能捕捉WM的PM和SM组成部分独特贡献的基于表现的WM测量方法。
