With increasing n-back task difficulty, reaction times increase and accuracy decreases¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? As n increases, reaction times usually increase and accuracy decreases; the two measures are usually negatively correlated. → Meule A 2017

Evidence¶

Meule A 2017¶

Meule A (2017). Reporting and Interpreting Working Memory Performance in n-back Tasks. Front. Psychol. 8:352. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00352

q2 · i? · theoretical · r2

The article states as a general pattern across cited studies that "reaction times usually increase and accuracy decreases" with increasing n, and that the measures are usually negatively correlated. No effect sizes printed.

"With increasing task difficulty ( i.e., with increasing ns), reaction times usually increase and accuracy decreases"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Omission and commission errors in n-back tasks have different correlates and may represent different processes — related
• Grade 4 children can metacognitively monitor their working memory performance, tending to be over-confident as task difficulty increases — related
• Reaction times and accuracy in n-back tasks have dissociable correlates and should not be interpreted interchangeably — related
• Working memory load degrades discrimination accuracy and slows responses in youth — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Accuracy and the proportion of high bets decrease with increasing discrimination difficulty in both domains — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• N-back response time increases and accuracy decreases with cognitive load, and Posner cue conditions differ in speed and accuracy trade-offs — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• WMPT accuracy, confidence, Bias Index and Absolute Accuracy Index all change significantly with task difficulty — related