| Abstract: | Examined the interference between finger tapping and searching in short-term memory (STM). 20 Ss (mean age 22.4 yrs) memorized a set of digits and then executed a series of 17 taps separated by 2 sec subjective time intervals. During each interval, a probe was presented for comparison with the items in the memory set. The amount of processing in STM was varied from series to series by manipulating the number of items in the memory set. Results show that mean duration and variability of intertap intervals increased proportionally with memory set size. This effect is explained as interference between STM processing and the timing component of the tapping performance. The authors suggest that tapping sensitivity to memory load indicates that, under some conditions, variations in tapping performance are valid indicators of STM processing requirements of a concurrent primary task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
