An item response theory approach to the measurement of working memory capacity

• Published in: Behavior research methods Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 1697 - 1714
• Main Authors: Navarro, Ester, Hao, Han, Rosales, Kevin P., Conway, Andrew R. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Humans; Item response theory; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Psychology; Item response theory (IRT); Working memory capacity; Complex span tasks

Complex span tasks are perhaps the most widely used paradigm to measure working memory capacity (WMC). Researchers assume that all types of complex span tasks assess domain-general WM. However, most research supporting this claim comes from factor analysis approaches that do not examine task perform...