Can Equating Perception Also Equate Working Memory Performance in Young Adults? A Stage Report for an Attempt to Resolve Individual Differences in Working Memory

Abstract

Working memory performances are not the same among different individuals, here we examined the role initial perceptual processing plays in working memory functioning. We sought to examine whether equating subjects on the initial perceptual processing could also equate their working memory performances. We did this by using a standard 2-back test using slanted bars as stimuli. Perception was equated by obtaining subjects’ 79% threshold for discrimination of two slanted bars with different orientation using a 3-down-1-up staircase. At this stage, we found some evidence that subjects equated on perception performance performed similarly in working memory tasks. A large scale experiment is needed to generalize the findings.