There is no convincing evidence that loading WM depletes a resource needed for the control of attention¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr3·q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Experimental dual-task evidence speaks against competition between WM maintenance and attention control for a shared resource. → Oberauer 2019
Evidence¶
Oberauer 2019¶
Oberauer, K. (2019). Working Memory and Attention – A Conceptual Analysis and Review. Journal of Cognition, 2(1): 36. https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.58
q2 · i? · review · r3
The review's synthesis of dual-task studies loading WM during attention-control tasks. WM load effects on distractibility are inconsistent (verbal load increases flanker effect, visual load decreases it), and concurrent processing costs on memory are accounted for by response-selection duration rather than attention-control demand. The review finds "no convincing evidence" for resource depletion.
"Taken together, there is no convincing evidence that loading WM depletes a resource needed for the control of attention"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Cognitive load in concurrent storage-processing tasks has a negative linear effect on memory span — related
- Dual-task (secondary-task) measures offer concurrent cognitive load assessment but are rarely used — related
- A shared attentional resource for storage and processing is the best supported resource theory of WM capacity but faces empirical challenges — reports the opposite
- Evidence that perceptual attention and WM maintenance share a limited resource is not yet convincing — a broader claim this one bears on
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
shared-resource-attention-control-wm-unconvincing |
title |
There is no convincing evidence that loading WM depletes a resource needed for the control of attention |
description |
There is no convincing evidence that loading WM depletes a resource needed for the control of attention |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2019 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — oberauer-2019 |
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