Fluid intelligence is (much) more than working memory capacity: an experimental analysis
Empirical evidence suggests a great positive association between measures of fluid intelligence and working memory capacity, which implied to some researchers that fluid intelligence is little more than working memory. Because this conclusion is mostly based on correlation analysis, a causal relatio...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
6 April 2023
|
| In: |
Journal of Intelligence
Year: 2023, Volume: 11, Issue: 4, Pages: 1-23 |
| ISSN: | 2079-3200 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/jintelligence11040070 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11040070 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/11/4/70 
|
| Author Notes: | Dirk Hagemann, Max Ihmels, Nico Bast, Andreas B. Neubauer, Andrea Schankin and Anna-Lena Schubert |
| Summary: | Empirical evidence suggests a great positive association between measures of fluid intelligence and working memory capacity, which implied to some researchers that fluid intelligence is little more than working memory. Because this conclusion is mostly based on correlation analysis, a causal relationship between fluid intelligence and working memory has not yet been established. The aim of the present study was therefore to provide an experimental analysis of this relationship. In a first study, 60 participants worked on items of the Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) while simultaneously engaging in one of four secondary tasks to load specific components of the working memory system. There was a diminishing effect of loading the central executive on the APM performance, which could explain 15% of the variance in the APM score. In a second study, we used the same experimental manipulations but replaced the dependent variable with complex working memory span tasks from three different domains. There was also a diminishing effect of the experimental manipulation on span task performance, which could now explain 40% of the variance. These findings suggest a causal effect of working memory functioning on fluid intelligence test performance, but they also imply that factors other than working memory functioning must contribute to fluid intelligence. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Gesehen am 14.06.2023 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 2079-3200 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/jintelligence11040070 |