Omission and commission errors in n-back tasks have different correlates and may represent different processes¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoretical r3 · q2 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2020: tool and model accuracy changes quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i3 Reaction times correlated positively with omission errors but not commission errors in two 2-back studies. → Meule A 2017 q2 i? Only omission errors, not commission errors or reaction times, were associated with working memory capacity in Oberauer (2005). → Meule A 2017 (2)

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 · i3 · theoretical · r3

Correlational analyses in two 2-back studies with food and neutral pictures (Meule et al., 2012; Meule, 2016) showed "reaction times were positively correlated with the number of omission errors" (r = 0.440; r = 0.449) but not commission errors. Omission and commission errors were unrelated.

"reaction times were positively correlated with the number of omission errors [ r(n = 70) = 0.440, p < 0.001 and r(n = 56) = 0.449, p = 0.001], but not with the number of commission errors [ r(n = 70) = 0.095, p = 0.435 and r(n = 56) = 0.178, p = 0.188]."

Meule A 2017 (2)¶

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 · r3

The article reports, citing Oberauer (2005), that with neutral words "only omission but not commission errors or reaction times were associated with measures of working memory capacity." No effect sizes are printed.

"in a study byOberauer (2005), in which neutral words were used, only omission but not commission errors or reaction times were associated with measures of working memory capacity."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• With increasing n-back task difficulty, reaction times increase and accuracy decreases — related
• Reaction times and accuracy in n-back tasks have dissociable correlates and should not be interpreted interchangeably — related
• Omission (no response) errors vary with age but not with reading skill — related
• Task-level executive function differences in dyslexia on the Phoneme Go No-Go and Picture 2-back tasks are no longer significant after controlling for processing speed — related
• Increased motivation eliminated ADHD–TD differences on most attention measures but differences persisted in complex multitasking and commission errors — related