Stoltzfus, E. R., Hasher, L., & Zacks, R. T. (1996). Working memory and aging: Current status of the inhibitory view. In J. T. E. Richardson (Ed.), Counterpoints in Cognition: Working Memory and Human Cognition. (pp. 66-68). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Abstract
Excerpt from Chapter: The construct
of working memory has become a central component of many models of cognitive
functioning, including those developed in the areas of thinking, problem
solving, and memory, as well as in most aspects of language processing,
such as comprehension, production, and reading. Generally, working memory
is conceptualized as a mental workspace consisting of activated memory
presentations that are available in a temporary buffer for manipulation
during cognitive processing. These activated representations may or may
not be available to consciousness, but they are usually thought to be
above some threshold of activation (Baddeley, 1986, 1992; cf. Cowan, 1988,
1993). Working memory has both storage and processing functions, enabling
both the temporary maintenance of active representations in memory and
also the manipulation of these representations in the service of current
processing demands. In tasks such a language comprehension, in which complex
processing of current information is ongoing but in which continuity with
previous information must be preserved at all times, efficient operation
of both the processing and storage components of working memory is critical.
Demands placed on working memory at any given time will, of course, vary
across situations and across individuals who differ in expertise or cognitive
abilities.
Although there is considerable agreement that working memory plays a critical
role in cognitive processing, a lack of consensus exists among cognitive
theorists as to how best to conceptualize working memory and the role
it plays in different cognitive activities. In this chapter we first consider
conceptualization of working memory that stress its purported limited
capacity, and then we turn to an alternative (first proposed by Hasher
& Zacks, 1988) that focuses on the inhibitory control of the contents
of working memory. Following a review of the evidence relevant to this
alternative, particularly evidence stemming from studies exploring adult
age differences in attention, memory, and language, we shall conclude
with a discussion of issues that are in need of further clarification
and investigation.
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