The benefits of memory control processes in working memory: Comparing effects of self-reported and instructed strategy use.

Abstract

Working memory performance is often assumed to benefit from different maintenance control strategies such as rehearsal, refreshing, elaboration, and grouping. In studies assessing strategy self-reports, some strategies were indeed associated with better recall. Nevertheless, experimental studies assessing the effect of instructing maintenance strategies compared to a no-instruction baseline lend no evidence for the effectiveness of these strategies for working memory. Explanations for this contradiction could be that instruction implementation engenders dual-task costs or that strategy instructions reduce adaptive strategy switching. Across two experiments, we investigated the frequency and variability of strategy use with trial-wise self-reports in serial recall of word lists. Furthermore, we examined potential instruction costs by comparing performance in trials with self-reported versus instructed use of the same strategies. Self-reported strategy use varied from trial to trial, with elaboration and rehearsal being the most frequent. Self-reported elaboration was correlated with better performance than reading and rehearsal. For the most prevalent strategies-elaboration and rehearsal-there were no costs of instructed strategy implementation. Our results speak against dual-task costs and for the advantage of adaptively choosing one's own strategy from trial to trial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).