Name: Kerlly Macas Gmez

Course: 8-17

WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY IN CONTEXT: MODELING DYNAMIC PROCESSES

OF BEHAVIOR, MEMORY, AND DEVELOPMENT

First published: 8 August 2016

DOI: 10.1111/mono.12249
Cited by: 0 articles
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This article is part of the issue Working Memory Capacity in Context:

Modeling Dynamic Processes of Behavior, Memory, and Development,
Simmering, Vanessa (Issue Author). For a full listing of articles in this issue.

Abstract
Working memory is a vital cognitive skill that underlies a broad range of behaviors.
Higher cognitive functions are reliably predicted by working memory measures from
two domains: children's performance on complex span tasks, and infants
performance in looking paradigms. Despite the similar predictive power across
these research areas, theories of working memory development have not
connected these different task types and developmental periods. The current
project takes a first step toward bridging this gap by presenting a process-oriented
theory, focusing on two tasks designed to assess visual working memory capacity
in infants (the change-preference task) versus children and adults (the change
detection task). Previous studies have shown inconsistent results, with capacity
estimates increasing from one to four items during infancy, but only two to three
items during early childhood. A probable source of this discrepancy is the different
task structures used with each age group, but prior theories were not sufficiently
specific to explain how performance relates across tasks.
The current theory focuses on cognitive dynamics, that is, how memory
representations are formed, maintained, and used within specific task contexts over
development. This theory was formalized in a computational model to generate
three predictions: 1) capacity estimates in the change-preference task should
continue to increase beyond infancy; 2) capacity estimates should be higher in the
change-preference versus change detection task when tested within individuals;
and 3) performance should correlate across tasks because both rely on the same
underlying memory system. I also tested a fourth prediction, that development
across tasks could be explained through increasing real-time stability, realized
computationally as strengthening connectivity within the model. Results confirmed
these predictions, supporting the cognitive dynamics account of performance and
developmental changes in real-time stability. The monograph concludes with
implications for understanding memory, behavior, and development in a broader
range of cognitive development.

Name: Kerlly Macas Gmez

Course: 8-17

Dispositional mindfulness and perceived stress: The role of emotional

intelligence

Abstract

The present study examined the relationships between dispositional mindfulness,

emotional intelligence and perceived stress using self-report measures. We
administered the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Wong Law Emotional
Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), and the Perceive Stress Scale (PPS) to a non-clinical
sample of Chinese adults (n = 380). The results showed that mindfulness was
positively associated with four components of WLEIS, and negatively associated with
perceived stress. Mediation analysis indicated that only the regulation and use of
emotion components of WLEIS acted as mediators of the association between
mindfulness and perceived stress. Effect contrasts showed no significant difference
between the specific indirect effects through these two mediators. Implications and
suggestions for future research are discussed.