Picture span test: measuring visual working memory capacity involved in remembering and comprehension.

Full Abstract

The working memory system is assumed to operate with domain-specific (verbal and visuospatial) resources that support cognitive activities. However, in research on visuospatial working memory, an appropriate visual working memory task has not been established. For the present study, a novel task was developed: the picture span test (PST). This test requires memorizing parts of scene images while comprehending various scene situations simultaneously. Results of correlation analyses and a factor analysis among college students (n = 52) validated that PST can predict visuospatial cognitive skills whereas a simple visual storage task and a verbal working memory task cannot. Furthermore, an error analysis indicated that inhibition is important for visuospatial working memory. Additionally, PST is considered to reflect individual differences in the visual working memory capacity. These findings suggest that the PST is appropriate for measuring visual working memory capacity and can elucidate its relationship to higher cognition.

Author information

Author/s: Tanabe, Azumi (A); Osaka, Naoyuki (N);

Affiliation: Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. azumi(-atsign-)l05.mbox.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Behavior research methods (Behav Res Methods), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-May; vol 41 (issue 2) : pp 309-17

Dates: Created 2009/04/13; Completed 2009/06/02;

PMID: 19363171, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/2/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.