PMCID: PMC4710969
Writing, Reading, and Listening Differentially Overload Working Memory Performance Across the Serial Position Curve
Abstract
Previous research has assumed that writing is a cognitively complex task, but has
not determined if writing overloads Working Memory more than reading and
listening. To investigate this, participants completed three recall tasks. These
were reading lists of words before recalling them, hearing lists of words before
recalling them, and hearing lists of words and writing them as they heard them,
then recalling them. The experiment involved serial recall of lists of 6 words.
The hypothesis that fewer words would be recalled overall when writing was
supported. Post-hoc analysis revealed the same pattern of results at individual
serial positions (1 to 3). However, there was no difference between the three
conditions at serial position 4, or between listening and writing at positions 5
and 6 which were both greater than recall in the reading condition. This
suggests writing overloads working memory more than reading and listening,
particularly in the early serial positions. The results show that writing
interferes with working memory processes and so is not recommended when the goal
is to immediately recall information.
Keywords: working memory, reading, listening, writing, serial recall
