A comparison of backward and forward spatial spans.

Full Abstract

The standard Corsi blocks task is frequently used to measure the capacity of visuospatial working memory, but the implications of the use of both forward and backward recall are still unclear. In the present study, we showed that the backward Corsi task is particularly powerful in discriminating between low- and high-spatial-ability individuals and involves different processes from those involved in the forward task. From a sample of 425 participants we selected one group of 20 high-spatial-ability participants and one of 20 low-spatial-ability participants. The results demonstrated that a backward spatial span offers specific information not available from a forward spatial span, and that there was no facilitation due to a descending format. In particular, in the low-spatial-ability group, performance was generally poorer, but backward Corsi recall was lower than forward recall, and participants did not show any advantage following the descending presentation format - which in some contexts is considered to reduce proactive interference. We conclude that the backward Corsi task has specific value and that the assumption of fully parallel verbal and visuospatial working-memory systems can lead to a variety of misunderstandings.

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Author information

Author/s: Cornoldi, Cesare (C); Mammarella, Irene C (IC);

Affiliation: Università di Padova, Padua, Italy.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) (Q J Exp Psychol (Colchester)), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-May; vol 61 (issue 5) : pp 674-82

Dates: Created 2008/04/18; Completed 2008/07/24;

PMID: 18421642, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Female
Humans
Male
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Mental Recall - physiology

Neuropsychological Tests
Reversal Learning - physiology
Space Perception - physiology
Students - psychology
Task Performance and Analysis
Visual Perception - physiology

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