The effect of working memory maintenance on long-term memory
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13421_2019_908_ReferencePDF.pdf
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Author(s)
Hartshorne, Joshua Keiles
Makovski, Tal
Date Issued
May 2019
Journal
Memory & Cognition
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Citation
Hartshorne, Joshua K. and Tal Makovski. "The effect of working memory maintenance on long-term memory." Memory & Cognition 47, 4 (May 2019): 749–763. © 2019 The Psychonomic Society, Inc.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Initially inspired by the Atkinson and Shiffrin model, researchers have spent a half century investigating whether actively maintaining an item in working memory (WM) leads to improved subsequent long-term memory (LTM). Empirical results have been inconsistent, and thus the answer to the question remains unclear. We present evidence from 13 new experiments as well as a meta-analysis of 61 published experiments. Both the new experiments and meta-analysis show clear evidence that increased WM maintenance of a stimulus leads to superior recognition for that stimulus in subsequent LTM tests. This effect appears robust across a variety of experimental design parameters, suggesting that the variability in prior results in the literature is probably due to low power and random chance. The results support theories on which there is a close link between WM and LTM mechanisms, while challenging claims that this relationship is specific to verbal memory and evolved to support language acquisition.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-019-00908-6
