Working memory capacity and recall from long-term memory: Examining the influences of encoding strategies, study time allocation, search efficiency, and monitoring abilities.

Abstract

The relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and recall from long-term memory (LTM) was examined in the current study. Participants performed multiple measures of delayed free recall varying in presentation duration and self-reported their strategy usage after each task. Participants also performed multiple measures of WMC. The results suggested that WMC and LTM recall were related, and part of this relation was due to effective strategy use. However, adaptive changes in strategy use and study time allocation were not related to WMC. Examining multiple variables with structural equation modeling suggested that the relation between WMC and LTM recall was due to variation in effective strategy use, search efficiency, and monitoring abilities. Furthermore, all variables were shown to account for individual differences in LTM recall. These results suggest that the relation between WMC and recall from LTM is due to multiple strategic factors operating at both encoding and retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record