Working Memory Capacity Limits Memory for Bindings

Abstract

I propose that the capacity of working memory places a specific limit on the maintenance of temporary bindings. Two experiments support this : Participants remembered word lists of varying length. When tested on a randomly selected word, their error rates increased with the length of the list, reflecting a limited capacity for short-term maintenance. This increase in errors was predominantly due to binding errors: People confused the correct word with other words of the current memory list, but very rarely with words not in the list. Show more